Elemental (Wizardess Heart)
by Fonix Girl
Summary: Klaus knew exactly how his life was going to play out. Elias never did anything but study. Luca didn't care. Yukiya hated himself and his magic. None of them ever put Selene Celeste Fonix, the new girl literally from a different world, into the equation. Read as she shakes up the lives of everyone around her, and ends up as the catalyst of a long series of very fantastical events.
1. Prologue

Hey! This is the new prologue! I completely trashed the old one, and thus, this was born. I decided the old one was crap so I rewrote it! Thanks for deciding to read this story, new readers, and thanks for rereading the Prologue (2.0)! (Updated: February 27, 2016)

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Update #2: October 17 2016-I'm going through and replacing all "Geolune"s with "Gedonelune"s in each and every chapter!

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Prologue

Aurora sat on her bed, fretting and worrying. Tomorrow she'd be off to school, the famed Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy. Most of all the adults she knew had gone there-her parent's, her uncle's, her aunt's. Her mom was the only one on that side of Aurora's family that had attended, but her admittance was followed by a series of adventures that Aurora would've thought fictional if it weren't for the fact that most of them were able to be verified by lots of people. A minor love triangle, a kidnapping and a month's absence from school, a discovery of not one, but _three_ heritages left hidden until after their deaths. Her maternal grandparents, along with that of one of her adoptive uncle's parentage. Not to mention the ordeal with the Fairy Flower and "saving Gedonelune" jazz, as well as that whole thing with her fraternal grandfather and her mother...according to her father, that was probably the most trying thing of all. Her father was famous, but he was a candle next to her mother's raging fire of a reputation-Selene Celeste was the stuff of legends. How could she ever live up to someone like that?

Flopping back onto her bed, she groaned into the pillow she was smashing to her face, and kicked at the air like a little child. Her large suitcase was in one corner, packed and repacked and packed again, and the guitar Uncle Matthew had made her for her birthday two years ago was propped against the wall in its case. She'd been assured that Blayze, her mother's familiar-a pheonix immata, in other words, a firebird, not to be mistaken for a Phoenix-would be able to bring her anything she needed if she managed to forget anything. But, being similar to her father in the manner of not liking to have things out of place, she did her best to have to avoid this.

She heard a shout and a boom on the other side of the house. That'd be Zeeke, her seven year old little brother, not wanting to go to bed again. Out of all her eight siblings, Zeeke was the one who'd inherited the temper from her mother's persona Angel. He was a handful, and the only one who could really manage him was Seraphina, Aurora's twelve year old sister. Seraphina, as her father put it, was much like the motherly side of Selene. Although she had no magical abilities, she was very good with children, and taking care of and teaching them. She also had the weirdest understanding of the most abstract of magics. Aurora glanced over and saw the little stack of fancy notebooks Seraphina had given her. She knew how much her sister loved writing music, and had given her the perfect gift-some of the notebooks had blank music note lines.

After a while, the house quieted as her parents and Seraphina got everyone to go to sleep. Aurora sighed. According to her father, bedtime was much quieter at the academy. Aurora wondered if she'd miss the hustle and bustle of her crazy family. She'd see her father regularly, of course, since he was a professor, but her mother and siblings not so much. Her oldest younger brother, known as K to his friends and family, wouldn't be joining her until the next year at the academy.

She was worried about practically everything she could be worried about as she fell into a fitful sleep.

…. …. ….

Aurora was glaring at the clock. It was exactly 1:17 a.m. She hated having insomnia. It always got worse when she was worried and stressed, too. She sighed and clicked on her lamp. She might as well make edits on that song that was her current work. It was for her, and K's, for that matter, best friends' birthday-the March Triplet's (Randy, Kai, and Lilith) were a little older than K, but not quite as old as she was-though they'd also be going to the academy this year as well. But they were good friends, and technically were the children of her great aunt, who was the same age as her mother, so they were related in some way. It was kind of a confusing thing to explain. The song she was writing was a fun, upbeat song. She had the tune down, but the lyrics still needed some work so they'd flow properly.

When she had last rearranged her room, she's purposely put her desk on one side of her bed. It was perfectly placed to where she could use most of the one end from her bed. Insomnia wasn't an uncommon occurrence with her.

About twenty minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door. ' _Knock-knock knock-knock-knock knock-knock, knock.'_ So it was her mother. Only her mother knocked like that. Her father told him that it drove him nuts back when they were in school-an unnecessary amount of noise, he said, because she never did it softly unless she absolutely had to. She was informed by her mother that it was purposeful.

"Come in." Aurora said, careful not to be too loud. Even though the only other people who slept in this hall were K and Raye (she was 12), who slept like the dead, it always felt strange to be loud in such at such a quiet time in the night.

The door slowly opened, not making a sound-Aurora often snuck out to sit outside on the summer nights where sleep evaded her, thus the hinges were always properly greased. Her mother appeared, hair in a sleep-mussed braid, tired yet awake eyes, and her customary smile graced her lips. Her belly was huge, larger than Aurora had ever seen it-at seven months pregnant, her mother was even larger than she'd been with the twins, John and Eli-and there was a tray balanced on one hip, making her mother have to slip into the room sideways. She shut the door behind her, pulling her wand out of her waistband and muttering a spell that would make the room soundproof from the outside. Aurora shook her head-both she and her father were forever telling her mother that wasn't a good place to keep her wand, but her mother was far more stubborn than a mule when she wanted to be.

"Couldn't sleep?" her mother glided over to the desk and set down the tray, which contained two steaming mugs and plate piled with various snackish foods. Even when heavily pregnant, her mother moved with a grace Aurora could only hope to master one day. Her mother said it was because the wind liked her and helped her out. Her mother said the strangest things.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tactlessness was something she shared with her father and uncle.

Her mother chuckled, "I guess so, deario. I'm going to ask the obvious again-would you like some hot chocolate? It's just the way you like it…" she trailed off temptingly.

"Of course!" Aurora laughed. As much as she loved her father's tea, her mother's hot chocolate couldn't be beat. She scooted over to allow her mother to slide in next to her, making an oomph sound as she settled. She handed one cup to her daughter and took the other one for herself. They sipped in silence for a few moments before her mother gasped, grabbing Aurora's hand and pressing to to her stomach. There was a weird movement that fascinated Aurora.

"The little goons are restless too, it seems." Her mother laughed, "Or they might just be hungry." Setting down the coco, she grabbed a brownie from the plate, taking a large bite and ' _mmm_ 'ing. Her mother normally ate like a quickly growing teenage boy, packing down more than everyone else in the house, including her father, who wasn't a light eater. When she was pregnant, she ate twice as much-when she was with the twins, it was three times as much. But with this pregnancy, she was eating even more than that. No one knew where all the food disappeared to, but she was constantly eating. No human, even when pregnant, should be able to eat that much. She burned through fuel like a bonfire does dry grass. Aurora had always wondered if she wasn't quite human, being able to eat so much. Was she just completely hollow?

She handed another brownie to her daughter, "Don't tell your father, mind. It drives him crazy when _I_ eat late-night snacks, but he likes it even less when I let you munchkins do it. Life lesson, Rory: men will never understand the cravings of woman. No matter how many times you try to explain it."

She laughed. Her father was constantly complaining about her mother's late night raids of the kitchen. Her mother replied that he could stop her if he wanted to, but it wasn't her fault he could sleep through a hurricane. Her parents were always bickering, but it was nearly all good-natured. Aurora believed that the two just liked the exchange of clever remarks (or, as often in her mother's case, remarks that made no sense but still caused her to win-merely because her father wasn't sure how to respond).

"I'm going to miss those fights. They're always so funny." Aurora sighed.

"I completely agree. To me, getting your father worked up like that is the most amusing things. Before he met me, no one really back talked to him-at all. I thought it was funny to do then, and I will always think so. I'm still pretty much the only one who does so. Some people still think he's scary."

Aurora shuddered as she remembered her father's anger when he found out some kids were bullying her several months ago. Those boys got the scolding of a lifetime, to say the least. "He is when he wants to be."

Her mother nodded, "Only when he wants to be, if you really know him. Can I trust you with a secret? I was hoping to keep it from everyone I could so it'd be a big surprise when it happens, but I _reeeeeally_ want to tell you-but only if you can keep it from everyone. If you tell any of your siblings, they'll tell your father, and he's the one I _really_ don't want to know."

She nodded eagerly, suspecting that this was another one of the ridiculously funny jokes her mother was always trying to pull on her father. It only worked about half the time, though. But the results were always fantastically hilarious.

"Okay, so I went to see Aunt Kira today," Aunt Kira was the pediatric medical wizardess who had seen Selene through all of her eight pregnancies and births and was the doctor for the entire family. Her mother glanced at Aurora's clock before continuing, "Well, _yesterday_ would be more accurate, but I gave in and told her I wanted to know if I was having twins or not, and what genders they were and whatnot." Aurora nodded-this was typical of her mother, though her father refused to learn until the birth what genders they were. "And so, I told your father it was twins, a boy and a girl. He sighed and gave me a resigned nod."

"Umm, okay?" So what was the secret?

"I lied."

Aurora gasped, "What?!"

"I'm having triplets. Twin girls and a boy."

"No!"

"Yes. And I can't _wait_ to see the look on your father's face!"

They both giggled about this. Whenever her mother was in labor, her father was a complete panicky mess and had to be removed from the building until it was over. In fact, her father was really against having more children-nine was enough, he argued. Let's just say Mom won that fight. How he'd react to not only _two_ more children, but _three_...that'd be a sight to see. Of course, he'd love them as much as he did all his other children, which was to say, more than anything, but he would be faced with half of the workload ahead...how he'd react to that realization would be hilarious.

"Wow, mom. Just...wow. Poor dad." Aurora snorted in a very unladylike manner, not sounding all that pitying of her father.

"Can you blame me? It's only getting harder to ruffle his feathers!"

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, finishing up their coco and binging on sweets.

"Nervous about school?" said her mother.

She inhaled, "As can be. You and dad have both gone down in the history of the school, accomplished amazing feats and done impossible things. Now, I've got to go. I won't know any of the students-well, except for Zave Jr., but he's two years older and he's really not a people person, oh, and I can't forget the triplets-but they'll all know about my parents. I'm so scared that it'll be isolated. That I won't be able to measure up to the expectations people'll have of me, coming from this family. I mean, I'm not even that great at magic, like K, or Raye, or John, or Eli, or even Jayce! I'm not even all that great with people, like you and Sera and Rosa!" She was babbling, she knew. But her mother was very good at listening when you needed her to. When she babbled herself out, she left out a big breath, feeling lighter than she had been feeling as of late.

Her mother wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to her side, stroking the hair of her oldest child. "Oh Rory, I can see why you'd feel that way, but you shouldn't. Sure, you may not be as good at things as some other people are, but you need to remember that you've got talents too. Out of all the children I've birthed-and you know that it's many, with more to come-"-she gestured to her swollen belly with her free hand-"you're the only one who's able to sing, and appreciate music the way you do. Your siblings may like listening to music, but each and every one of them is tone deaf." She winced at some of the memories of music lessons, "Sure, Johnny boy may be able to play the violin decently, and maybe one day Rosa's piano talent will evolve past the banging keys of Twinkle Twinkle, but you, my dearest darlin', can sing better than I can."

"That's not true!" Aurora exclaimed. She could only hope to be half as good as her mother one day. "You're the best singer I know!"

"Only because you neglected to include yourself. You have just as much talent as me, but you work really hard at it. Hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard, you know. And remember, I've been doing it far longer. But if you compared a 15-year-old me to right-now-you, you're better than I ever was. Take pride in your talents, accept your weaknesses, and be happy with who you are. Otherwise, you'll be pretty miserable-like I am on rainy days." They both laughed. Her mother hated rain, and overcast skies, and cold, and anything remotely like it. It made her lethargic and apathetic and gloomy. The complete opposite of her normal self. "See? That's better. Your father doesn't quite get my philosophy, though. He thinks that hard work overcomes anything, no matter your limitations. In many situations, that's pretty true, but you also need to be happy with who you are and the progress you're making at your own pace."

Aurora smiled, "Thanks, Mama. I'll try to do that."

"And as for living up to what your parents have done, you should do that easily. I wasn't the best student when I started out-my grades were pretty cruddy, and I was so far behind everyone else. Did I tell you about how, up until I was almost 17, that my magic was entirely self-taught? And that I did a not-so-good job teaching myself?"

Her daughter's eyes widened. "You're kidding."

"Not in the slightest. In fact, if it wasn't for my buddy, I doubt I'd've passed the trial."

"Seriously?"

"Se-ri-ous-ly. In fact, I think you're old enough to hear the unedited version of the story. One of my friends from Terra, who goes by the pen name of Authoress, as she wishes to remain anonymous, helped me record it. The stories were getting so twisted and embellished that I thought history should be helped before the truth is forgotten."

"Dad knows about this particular venture, doesn't he?" It wasn't uncommon for her mom to go off and do the most random things and never tell her father until afterwards.

"Well, yes. He's a pretty big part of it, after all. It's still a work in progress though, so we've only got a bit of it done. It's most likely going to end up being really long. But I think it'll be worth it-no more having to explain things over and over and _over..._ I'll just be able to say 'go look at this or that and be done with it'~" her mom sighed, "That'd be nice. We've dubbed it _Elemental Wizardess_ , mostly on your father's suggestion. It does have a ring to it, I'll admit. It's better than Uncle Serge's name-he wanted to call it some really long name that I can't even remember and that was _really_ literal." She rolled her eyes when she said that-Uncle Serge was terrible at naming things. There was a reason his wife named all their children.

"That does sound like a bit of a daunting project. What about the things you forget?"

"That's what Aunt Zelia is for. With her special magical talents, bringing up memories, unaltered, is a piece of cheesecake." She glanced at the clock and recoiled a bit-it was nearly two-thirty. "Yikes. We should probably try and get to bed-your father does wake up on occasion and I'd rather not deal with the grump. You know how he hates mornings-it's even worse in the mid of the night, believe it or not."

Aurora pouted-she really wanted to hear more about this project. But, she knew her mother was right. She was more than most people realized, it seemed. "Okay. I don't want to be tired on my first day."

"Righto, Rory. Though technically tomorrow is your first day-you'll just be meeting your roommate and the like today." Her mother gave her another one-armed side-hug, "And don't worry, I'll slip you the first part of the story before you get on the train tomorrow. Most likely, it'll be hidden in your lunch-daddy dear won't find it there~!" Seeing as how her father was banned from cooking because he was an epic failure in the kitchen, and Tea-Making was his only talent in that area. The man once burned instant pudding, for crying in a bucket!

Her mother kissed her forehead and got out of the covers, gathering up wrappers and the two mugs and putting them on the tray. Before she left, she tucked Aurora into bed and turned off the lamp. Normally, she'd've rejected the gesture, claiming she was to old to be tucked in like a little kid; for now, though, she'd let her mother do it. Who knew when the next time she'd get this comfort from her mother?

Her mother slipped silently out the door, breaking the spell with a little ring she always kept on her pinky. When she shut the door, the only light was a little of the half-moonlight coming in through the window. Aurora fell asleep thinking about her conversation with her mother. She'd always gotten along a little better with her father, but there were some things and times where only your mother could help.

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Note From Selene Celeste Fonix:

Yes, I come from the rare magical family line, at least on Terra (known as Earth to the residents). Let me rewind and explain; there are many different worlds—don't ask me how many, for I have absolutely no clue—and no, they aren't far away from each other. If fact, they all exist in the same place—but in different… dimensions, as they're often called, and are all fairly different in layout.

This story involves two—Terra, and Myula. Naturally, in the beginning, Terra had no magic upon it whatsoever, but Myula did. At a bad part of Myula's history, many of the magical people fled, opening and escaping through a portal into another world—Terra. A hundred or so years later, magic became feared in Terra, and most of the magical people escaped into a better Myula from Terra, though a few weaker users, wickens and the like, stayed.

My mother and her lover escaped into Terra secretly so that they could be married, as their families had forbidden it. They found themselves in a modern world, one where magic has been just fictional, though, to some, the technology the regs (regular people who don't possess magic) could be considered magical (think late 1990s-early 2000s). In this strange world, they quickly learned the customs and ways of the people of the land (country) that they entered into (the United States of America). They worked, bought a big, old house with several acres of land, and settled down, having seven children, all boys. They taught their son's of their magical heritage, and helped them discover their magical talents—all of which were different—and made sure that they knew very well how they mustn't ever tell people, excepting those whom they could trust with their lives.

Soon after the youngest was born, though, the father was in an accident involving a drunken driver and was killed. The family became closer and the older ones did what they could to help support their young mother. Less than a year later, their mother found love again, marrying a second husband. They were married for less than a year before he too died. Soon after, my mother found out she was pregnant with an eighth child. A girl. Me.

-Selene


	2. Chapter 1

Updated: October 17, 2016

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Chapter 1

"Whoohoo!" I yell as I run down the sloping hill, toward my practice field. I want to just have fun today—it's a perfect day, sunny, warm, and open. Both Alva and Arian bound after me as I slid to a stop in the dirt clearing that my brothers (as well as their women, occasionally) and I use for magical practice.

I'm in cut-off shorts and an old t-shirt with a small drawstring bag upon my back. My (far to) long hair is pulled back into a tight, braided ponytail to keep it out of my face. I remove my bag and pull out a long, thin case, opening it to reveal my wand. It's a pretty one, not in a flashy way like the ones of my sister-in-laws and of my brothers girlfriends, but in a simple, elegant way. It's about twelve inches long, the base color is a simple silver, but it has thin, gold veins running along the length of it. My mother gave me it when I was six, and told me my father had made it, as he was a wand-maker, but hadn't sold this one because he had a special feeling that he should keep it. She said it must have been because he somehow knew it'd be perfect for me.

I also grab my simple handle, made from maple and fitted perfectly to my hand. I slid the thicker side of my wand my wand into its hollow center until I hear a ' _click_ '. I made it because wands tend to change temperature depending on the type of magic you use. Fire makes it warmer and hotter the longer you use it, and ice makes it cooler and colder the longer you use it, to give a few examples. Of course, heat never bothered me. I'm not sure why, but I've always been extremely tolerant of heat—in fact, my average body temperature is 102℉. It's weird to everyone else, but I'm used to it. It's normal only because I've never been otherwise.

I pop a chocolate in my mouth, stuffing the wrapper back in the bag, which contains a variety of snacks to help me keep up with my wickedly fast metabolism. I stand up and swallow the sweet chocolate mush. I run my tongue over the inside of my mouth to clear it of any chocolate residue. I straighten up and ready my wand. Today I'm working on my wind magic—and, as per usual, ending my session with my fire practice. In many magics, other than fire, I was less than satisfactory. I had trouble with the most basic of spells—the ironic thing was that fire magic was the most complicated magic type besides the forbidden time magics, which, if messed up, could possibly destroy the flow of time. All of my brothers were no more than mediocre at fire magic, yet it was the only thing I could consider myself good at. I messed up most other magic I performed, or tried to perform, though I could sometimes figure out how to use the other three elements.

"I command thee to gather the fallen leaves of this meadow into a pile! Ventus Inter!" A gust of wind swept through the still meadow and a swirling storm of leaves began to gather in the center. It started to slow, and I was excited, thinking it was finally going to work, until it began speeding up. A blast of wind blew from the center and flew through the meadow, knocking me onto my behind, sending poor Arian tumbling, along with my bag. Then it was gone, the leaves left in a swirling pattern in the middle of the meadow, spiraling from the center like a still whirlpool. I fell backwards, landing with my arms open wide, stretching like a cat in the warm sunshine. Another failure.

I closed my eyes and, about two minutes later, something landed on my face—my bag. I shook my head—the bag falling to the side—and opened my eyes to see Alva standing over me. Arian jumped on my stomach, bouncing up and down. I closed my eyes and groaned, "Fiiiiiiine…"

I attempted the spell over and over again until I got some sort of pile (it was a bit spread out but resembled a pile). Exhausted from excessive magic practice, I trudged home on heavy feet. I had spent nearly five hours (about a third of it messing around) getting the leaves magicked into a pile. I was too tired to even want to do my fire practice. Plus, I had run out of snacks and it was dinner time. Dinner was going to be late tonight (I was the one who made it). Oops.

Twenty minutes later I made it home. I saw several cars in the dirt and rock driveway. Hmm. Looks like everyone decided to visit. Maybe I can get out of cooking, if the girlfriends and wives were over…

I opened the door and was greeted with cheers. I was baffled to see everyone, from my six nephews (wife one has two, wife two has three, wife four has one.) to three wives to three girlfriends as well as all seven of my brothers, standing in wait with a huge grin on each of their faces.

"Congratulations!" Wives and girlfriends.

"You're so cool!" Nephews.

"You did it, sis!" Brothers.

Ect.

"Wait, wait, wait! Everyone quiet down and tell me what the heck is going on!" I wasn't sure what happened, and I would really like to find out.

"You made it, Aunt Se-se! You're so cool!" My five year old nephew, Matthias Jr. shouted, jumping up and down with his arms up.

I scooped him up and put him on my back piggy-back style and he wrapped his arms around my neck, "What did I do, bud?"

"You made it into the fancy school for magicky people!" Alric, my six year old nephew said quietly, though he had excitement in his voice. (He was a quiet child—it's no wonder Sakura likes him.) Sakura, my small wing-rabbit, fluttered her ears as she sat on Alric's head.

"Huh?"

"Luna, comere. This'll explain everything." Merlin beckoned me over, so I, with Matthias still on my back, walked over curiously.

"So what in tarnation is happening…?" I raised an eyebrow, "Why's everyone here…?"

I heard a sound of someone clearing their throat. "Yes, I shall do that just—that is, if all of you will allow me to do my job!" A annoyed voice spoke, and I looked around to see who it was—it didn't sound familiar.

"Who's that?" I asked.

One of the papers on the desk shot up and began floating. "I'm assuming that your Miss Selene Fonix?" Clearly the voice was coming from the letter. Huh. An enchanted, speaking letter. I have to admit that this was new.

"Umm, yes. I'm Selene Celeste Fonix…I umm, prefer to have my middle name there."

"Yes, yes, whatever you say. I am here to tell you that you have been officially invited to join the Gedonelune Academy of Magic, in the country of Gedonelune, Myula."

"What?!" I screeched. I turned my head rapidly side to side, "Come on, which of you guys enchanted the paper? I see right through your flimsy prank. Come on now, fess up."

Silence.

"Anyone?"

Silence.

"I'll assure you that this is no joke, Miss Fonix. What is your answer? Will you accept, or not? You're acceptance is provisional, as at the end of thirteen days you'll be tested to see if you're worthy to attend."

My eyes widened as the truth sunk in, "Seriously? I have to decide now? Like, right _now_? How can such an amazing school like that want such a crappy wizardess like me? I mean, I can't even use wind to put leaves into a pile properly!" It's no understatement to say that I felt rushed.

"Come on, Lesty, accept it." My second oldest brother, Matthias, plucked Matthias Jr. off my back, and Matthias clung to his father. "You of all people deserve it. I'll take care of the papers for the local high school. Besides, the rest of us got to go study magic abroad. You have the opportunity to study magic at the best magical school in the very realm where magic is at its strongest! And if it doesn't work out, at least you tried! Remember what mom used to say? If one never tries…"

"One will never know." I finished, smiling. I turned back to the letter, "I formally accept the invitation to attend the academy."

The letter buzzed and a few moments later, a package wrapped in plain brown paper appeared in the air began to fall. I reached out and caught it. It felt heavy. "That is your uniforms. It includes two regular ones and one heavier one, for specific classes. Inside is also your school emblem. It must be worn with your uniform at all times. As for what else you must pack, a list was sent on the dead paper that was in the envelope with me."

"When am I to leave? I know customs to travel between worlds take longer than a major airport here."

"Customs are no problem. They've already been taken care of, Lena. Remember how you went to visit me last spring? Your passport thing is still good. And the people there recognize you, at least the ones on this side—you've seen all of us off enough times." Johnathon, my oldest brother, inserted.

"True…"

"Don't worry about anything! We've already packed for you!" Sarah, Matthew's (brother #3) wife, giggled. Oh no.

"Let me guess—all dresses and skirts and fancy things? You realize that I'll only destroy them and am going to have to repack, right?" I sighed.

"I made sure that some jeans and such were added, so don't throw a fit." Marie, Matthias' wife, spoke up from the back of the crowd. She was holding Alric. She was honestly my favorite—she defended me against as many of the makeover attacks my other sister-in-laws subjected me to, even if she often lost. I always appreciate the effort though.

"Thank you Marie. There's a reason you're my favorite sister."

A series of joking "Hey!"s rang out. This set off a group laughing fit.

…. …. ….

That evening I wasn't allowed to really do anything: cook, clean, repack, anything! It was all done for me in "celebration"—meaning I ended up playing outside with five of my six nephews (ranging from ages 2-8, the sixth one, Maverick, was still a baby, just under a year old). It was nice to be able to do that for once.

That evening when I went to bed, I wondered about what would happen at this school. Perhaps I can make some friends…and invite them to the house over a break, like my brothers had done with their friends in girlfriends.

I crinkled my nose when I remembered what Sarah had teased me about earlier. "Maybe you can find your own S.O. at that school! After all, all your brothers did! But since this is you we're talking about, it's a slim chance unless you become more girly. Here's an idea! Why don't you let me teach you how to put on makeup and…" At that point I groaned and whined about how if someone wanted to date me, it wouldn't be because of makeup and pretty clothes. It would be because they could accept me and my strange personality the way they are. She replied saying that it wouldn't hurt, to which I retorted saying that I don't want to pretend to be something I'm not, and I'm _not_ a girly girl. At this point I slipped away while Matthias distracted her when he tugged on her sleeve and asked for something.

I laugh at the constant attempts of my sisters to prettify me. I swear, it's like their favorite activity is trying to give me a makeover! I've never been one to like that kind of stuff. I was a complete and total tomboy—the one who wore pants and t-shirts and played in the dirt and outside. I picked up animals and poked at bugs with sticks (except spiders, those things were fast and creepy (don't get me wrong—I'm not scared of them, not at all, I just think they're a bit creepy)) and swam in our pond with all my clothes (or none of them (when I was little)) on. I explored the forest and had adventures (mostly made up) and played games like capture the flag with my brothers.

I kept thinking about what Sarah said and nearly drove myself crazier. Why should I care about that? I mean, seriously, it's not that important!

Is it?


	3. Chapter 2

Updated: October 17, 2016

* * *

Chapter 2

I knew this was a dream because it was too strange to be real. At least, I think it is. Naw, there's no way it couldn't be.

Things were flashing by in a muddled haze—an eye patch, green blur (which I think was hair), a book (a grimoire?), a pendant. People, I couldn't make out any of their features, were surrounding me. I tried to speak to them, but they didn't seem to hear me.

"Who are you? Where is this? Can't you tell me something? Anything…?"

"Luna!"

I bolted up. I turned wildly and nearly bonked my head into Merlin's.

"Oh my gosh Mer! You scared me!"

"Clearly…" he mumbled. He looked at me, "You were talking in your sleep again."

"Really?" Did I even dream? I don't tend to remember. "What did I say this time?"

He shrugged, "I wasn't here long enough to hear much of anything. But if you want to take a walk before you have to go, you might want to do that now. I thought you might want me to wake you so you could." My alarm clock broke last week, and Merlin hadn't gotten around to fixing it yet, so he woke me up. He likes to get up early to—morning are so peaceful, don't you agree? Plus, getting up early means I don't have to rush and be late for anything.

"Oh, thanks. That was thoughtful."

He winked, "I do know you better than anyone. I'll be in my room if you need me. See you." He left.

I stretched. "Mmm…" I moaned. I hopped out of bed, made it, and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and dragged a brush through my hair. I'll braid it when I get back, so a ponytail will do for now. Gosh I need my hair cut.

When I was age(s) 7-12, I just cropped off my own hair when it got too long. But ever since my fourth oldest brother, Inan, started dating Ria, now his wife, she insisted she get to cut my hair. And she thinks it's really pretty long. I think it's a bother. I'd crop it off, but she'd be upset, and why cause problems where there doesn't need to be any? I need it cut though. Bad. It's getting pretty annoying.

I slipped on a pair of tennis shoes, my gray and blue ones, and turned to see that Alva had curled up in the warm spot I left on my bed. She's wasn't a big one for mornings—she liked afternoons. Arian on the other hand, was just the opposite, liked morning and was sleepy during the afternoons.

Arian wove around my ankles as I slipped on a jacket and zipped it up. It was a bit chilly this morning and, with my body temp, I'm a bit sensitive to the cold. You'd think I'd be less, but nope. I have to be more. I get really lethargic in the winter, and hyper in the summer. If my body temp goes below 100, I get really sick, and it's not fun. At. All.

I tiptoe through the house, but a sleepy Daren, Inan's only child (age two and a half), stumbled out of the room he was sleeping in and clung to my leg. "Me come. Me come." He mumbled. Aww…I can't say no to such a cute face.

I wrapped him in the blanket he was dragging and lifted him up piggy-back style. He clung on to me like a koala—it was obvious he was still half asleep. I carefully opened the door and crept out, shutting it as quietly as I could behind me. I began heading towards my favorite trail, one that wound around a bunch of pretty landmarks—really good climbing trees, a few small caves, the lake. At a normal walk, it took just a bit longer than half an hour, and it ended up behind the house. Arian was following right behind.

…. …. ….

That walk was a great way to start my morning. Daren was quiet the entire time and was asleep long before we got back—but I was glad for the body heat. I love the fact that children are little heaters. My body temp may be 102, but I'm extremely sensitive to the cold.

When I walked through the doorway, I was greeted by all seven of my brothers, and all my five sisters (only four were married, one engaged). Turns out the wall had been a decoy for them making breakfast.

Not that I'm complaining.

I handed Daren over to his mother and sat at the table—immediately beginning to stuff my face with syrupy pancakes. "Mmmm…" Everyone laughed.

…. …. ….

After breakfast, I took a shower and my sisters made me sit through a quick makeover. Basically, they had me dress in my uniform (which had a skirt. I don't like skirts. I managed to sneak a pair of shorts underneath them when no one was looking, though), putting my hair in an elaborate, braided updo, and covering my face in the goop called "makeup"—which I mentally vowed to remove before I transitioned over to Myula. Hey, old dislikes die hard. Makeup was no exception.

My brothers snapped a picture, like they did every year before I started another year of homeschooling. Except I was going to a real school this year. For magic. Complain about this if you want, but I honestly feel like I'm about to go to Hogwarts. Not that Hogwarts is even known by anyone over in Myula. It's strictly a Terran thing. Maybe J. K. Rowling was from Myula and was inspired by the magic schools there. It's definitely a possibility. And now I'm off track again. Lovely.

Anywaaaaaay, back to the tale. Or story, if you prefer. Or even history. Off topic.

It had been decided that Eric, my second youngest older brother, three years older than I, would be the one to transport me to the gate and escort me right to the entrance. He was the best at place magic.

"Okay. Are you ready? Everything there? Suitcase? Backpack? Did you remember your freedom notebooks? What about your tampo—"

I immediately cut Cynthia (Jonny's wife) off at that point. No need to blab that in front of my brothers. "I'm fine. I've got everything. You can calm down not Miss Mom." I've teasingly called her that for a few years—ever since my mother died she felt that she should step in and help. I appreciate the effort, but sometimes it's just…you know what I mean, right?

She smiled sadly at me, "Okay. I suppose I should let my little baby sister become my grown-up baby sister. I'm just worried about you."

"I know." I gave her a hug. Then went around and gave everyone a hug, saying goodbye to everyone as I did so. I nearly was swamped by my nephews when they all hug-attacked me all at once.

"You're awesome!"

"You can do it!"

"You is so cool!" (This one was only three)

"Good luck!"

And so forth.

…. …. ….

Eric transported the two of us to the front of the transfer building. It was literally in the middle of nowhere and could only be reached by magic.

We walked in and Eric talked to the person at the desk with his usual gruff ways. He was the biggest of all my brothers, and wasn't really one for much affection. It's probably why he didn't have a girlfriend for the longest time. He notified the lady at the desk of the situation and she went off to tell the portal wizards to charge up the dimension crosser—it takes about thirty minutes when it's cooled down.

I went to the bathroom and washed all off all the crap on my face. I look in the mirror after I dry my face with the rough paper towels and look into the mirror to make sure I've gotten it all off. Good.

I walk out of the bathroom and over to where Eric is waiting with my suitcase and backpack. "I think I might hurl." I pretend to throw up on him.

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever Drama Queen. You wouldn't upchuck unless you were actually sick. We all know how much you hate doing so."

"Y'all know me to well."

"How can we not?"

"Good point. I guess it goes the other way as well too."

"Mhm."

When the time finally came, the lady led me to the place I had been so many times to see my brothers off. Now, it's my turn to step into the unknown. At least, unknown to me.

Before I made the step into the chamber that would transport me into Myula, Eric pulled me into his side with a one-armed hug. "Knock 'em dead sis."

I grinned cheesily, "I'll make sure to do just that."

"Not literally…" he whispered in my ear.

"Aww…there goes my plans for the week." I whined jokingly.

He let me go and I saw the corner of his mouth curl up a bit. That was a close to a smile as you could get him most of the time. "Good luck little duck." That made me smile even more. That was something out mother used to say, and all of us say it since that was something I said every time instead of just plain "good luck" when I was little.

"Thanks."

I took a deep breath, grabbed the handle of my suitcase and walked into the room. It was a plain brown room.

" _Could you please close your eyes for the cross-over?"_ The voice from the speakers said. I screwed them shut tightly. " _Thank you. Cross-over will be in ten…"_ I can do this. " _Nine."_ I wonder if we always have to wear the uniform. In Matthew's school (third oldest brother), they only had to wear their uniforms on special days. " _Six_." Probably not. This academy was very proper and prestigious. " _Three."_ Here it comes! _"Two. One_."


	4. Chapter 3

Updated: October 17, 2016

* * *

Chapter 3

I can see the extremely bright flash of light even through my eyelids. I wait until it's died down before opening them. Even when I do, I can see something similar to sunspots in my vision. I'm in a room similar to the one in Terra. Only, this one doesn't look like it's so hospital-sterile. It's a softer kind of white. I'm in Myula. Myula. The country on Gedonelune, to be exact.

As many times as my brothers have gone back and forth, this is the first time I've gone past the waiting room in Terra. I look around and see lines on the wall where a door is. No handle. There's only one on the outside. That way, nothing in either of these portal rooms is affected by anything.

I start walking towards the door when it opens suddenly, making me jump. A younger person in a guard uniform—similar to the one in Terra—stands in the doorway.

"Who are you? Why did you come through the portal? I know for a fact that there wasn't any cross-overs scheduled for today." He demanded in the language of Gedonelune. Did I mention I spoke English and Geolunan fluently? (Note: From this point on I will be speaking in Geolunan unless I say otherwise.)

"I…" I began.

"Let me handle this." A muffled voice said from my bag. The acceptance letter slid out of my bag and explained everything, the reason for such short notice, ect. Thanks.

The guard nodded. "You must take the next train if you wish to get there today. You must hurry though, it leaves in half an hour and it's nearly that far away walking. Here, I'll show you to the entrance and point it out. It's literally straight down the street."

He led me down a few hallways, nodding to each guard we saw. I smiled at each of them and they did so in return. When we get to the entrance, he points out and says the train station is straight down the left direction of the street, and that I might want to hurry.

"I've got a little sister who goes to your school. Her name's Amelia. If you meet her, would you tell her I said hello?"

I grinned, "Sure thing. Thank you so much!" He smiled back and went inside. I snatched the acceptance letter (it had been following us, floating in the air) and shoved him in my bag, to his complaint. I began running as fast as I could down the street, thankful that I was in great shape.

I made it to the station with minutes to spare. I managed to procure a ticket with the bag of Geolunain currency my brothers had put together for me. It was apparently quite a lot, since, apparently, it was a pain to do the conversions, and my brothers just gave me some they already have. But 'some' from each of seven brothers and all my sisters can add up to quite a lot.

Literally the _second_ after I had stepped onto the train the doors closed behind me. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding until just then.

I walked down the train, keeping my balance as best I could as it sped up, I looked for a compartment that was empty, or close to. Most were really full. But towards the end, I came across one that only had one person on it, a boy, perhaps a year younger than I, with golden blond hair.

I knock on the glass door, slightly opening it, "Excuse me, would you mind my sitting in here? Everywhere else is pretty full."

"Go ahead." He said without looking up from the book in his lap.

"Thanks." I pulled my suitcase in with me and remembered that I still hadn't seen what my sisters packed in it. At least I had packed the important stuff in my backpack. I looked at the book the boy had propped up. The title was "The History of Magic Tools".

"Oh, that seems like an interesting book. Are you liking it?"

"Yes." He said curtly.

"That's good. There's no point in reading a book that doesn't interest you or isn't assigned reading." He ignored me. "Magic tools, huh? One of my older brothers actually deals with creating them."

This got his interest. "Really?" He had beautiful violet eyes.

"Mmhmm. My twin brother, Merlin, does a branch of magic tools and combines them and finds out how they can be compatible with modern Terran technology. He also likes just working with the creation of original-style magic tools."

"Wait, you're from Terra?"

"Yep. This is actually my first time in Myula. All my brothers have gone to boarding schools here and my sister-in-laws lived here before they married my brothers. Though I myself have never come here. I probably wouldn't have ever have come if I hadn't been invited to attend Gedonelune academy."

"Wait, you'll be attending the academy?"

"Yup."

"I happen to go there. What classes are you in?"

"I'm not sure yet. My letter's pretty rude and hasn't said much. I'll figure it out eventually."

"I see. I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Selene Celeste Fonix. And you?"

"Elias Goldstein."

"That's a cool name. Goldstein. It sounds so fancy."

"Haven't you heard of us? My father at least?"

I shook my head, "I haven't. I've never been here before, remember?"

"Ah, that's right. He's famous for his creation of certain magic tools."

"And that might explain your interest in them. I might set up a scrying conversation between you and my brother at some point. You two seem like you'd get along well. He knows all about the tools. I, on the other hand, literally stick to my element."

"That might be interesting. But you know that scrying is fictional magic, correct?"

Actually, I knew it wasn't. "It's one of Merlin's inventions. He combined communication devices from Terra with magic and managed to create devices that are able to communicate between Myula and Terra. It was actually an accident. He was trying to call our brother in Myula and somehow spelled the phones. Everyone in my family who's over the age of ten has one. We've been using them for nearly a decade now." I pulled out my smartphone that Mer had imbued with magic and showed him. "It works like a normal cellphone—a Terran communication device—but it has the added features my brothers added." I put it back in the bag. "But we aren't supposed to use it for more than an hour a day, otherwise it'll overheat and start draining your magic."

"And it's been like that for a decade?"

"No, it originally was only for twenty minutes. It can only go so far on electricity—which is what these phones run on. As phones get better, so do the capabilities of the spell."

"That's fascinating. How old is he?"

"Same age I am. Sixteen."

"He was only six when he did this?!"

"Like I said, it was an accident. He was just trying to call one of our brothers and somehow got it to work. I'd elaborate, but I don't understand much more than what you've been told. How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"So either I'll be on your grade or one up."

"Actually, classes are determined by magical level. The better you are, the higher you go. I'm a level ten."

"Out of what?"

"Twenty. I've only been attending for two years. My brother, on the other hand, is a twenty."

"How old is he?"

"Nineteen. He's the school's prefect."

I put my head in my hands. "I'm going to Hogwarts! You take a train to a magic school after being accepted with a talking letter and there's even a prefect!" I moaned. Then I started laughing. Giggle fit. Complete giggle fit.

Elias was looking at me funny. Ten minutes later, when I calmed down, I wiped my eyes and apologized. "Sorry…I'm tired. I was referring to a world-famous novel series back on Terra. And then a giggle fit struck."

"Giggle…fit?"

"Haven't you ever suddenly started laughing and haven't been able to stop for a long time?"

"Not personally."

"Well, that's what a giggle fit is. They happen regularly for me with my family the way they are. My record is an hour, eight minutes, and three seconds—Merlin literally timed it, just to show me how ridiculous I was."

"Okay…"

"So what's this prefect's name?"

"Klaus?"

"As in Santa?"

"What?"

"He's Mythical Terran Christmas Mascot."

"Whatever you say…it's spelled K-L-A-U-S."

"Mkay. Coolio."


	5. Chapter 4

Update: October 17, 2016

* * *

Chapter 4

Elias and I continued talking. I learned quite a bit about the school. It was really pretty cool. He was gruff at first but after you strike on a topic he likes, he goes into what I call "complete scholar" mode. He also mentioned that he was coming back from a weekend at home. Merlin will do that a lot. It's an effective way to not have to talk very much. After a while he switched the conversation to me.

"So when did you get invited to the school?" He asked.

"Umm…last night."

"That seems a bit rushed."

"Tell me about it. It's even worse when your sisters refuse to let you pack and do it for you. Heaven only knows what they put in there. I'm kind of dreading looking into my suitcase. Question: should I arrive in my uniform? Or can I wait until tomorrow?"

"I don't think it will matter. I mean, tomorrow is your first day, after all."

"Lovely. I want to put off wearing it as long as possible."

"Why is that?"

"Because it has a skirt. I don't really wear skirts. I can't even really remember the last time my sister's managed to force me into one. I think it was my twelfth birthday party."

"Wow. Do girls from Terra often not wear skirts or dresses?"

"It depends on the girl. I prefer pants. Skirts are not convenient. How is one supposed to modestly defend oneself in a skirt? Wearing a skirt reduces self defense by half."

"You're strange."

"Tell me tell me tell me something I don't know~." I jested, "Sorry. It's a song title. I like music."

This made his eyes sparkle, "Really?"

I nodded, "I've always been good with instruments. Singing's also a lot of fun. Occasionally, I help out with the live music at the dance club-not a regular club, it's just meant for dancing, and it doubles as a restaurant during the day, though-owned by one of my sister-in-law's brother. It's just for fun and extra cash if I need it. I'll sometimes play or sing for family, but often I'll just sing along with whatever I'm listening to."

"That's amazing. I'm pretty good with instruments myself. My favorite is the violin." His face colored a bit, as if he was embarrassed to tell me about it.

"I love the violin! It's a fun one! Maybe I can teach you about LS style sometime. I don't think Myula has something like that."

"LS style?"

"Lindsey Stirling. She's a violinist who dances as she plays the violin. She has the coolest music videos. Her 'Shatter Me' one is the best by far."

"Music videos?"

"Oh. I forgot that there is nearly no such thing as Terran tech on Myula. It's kind of hard to explain. But If you ever come to Terra, I'll be glad to show you around."

"I might take you up on that someday."

Then a person-who I took was train staff, from the uniform-knocked on the door. He opened it slightly, "The train will be arriving at Stargate soon." Elias nodded.

"Stargate is the town nearest the academy. It's about two miles away. Someone will probably be there to meet you."

"Thanks. I'm really glad I was able to make a friend before even reached the school."

The train began to slow down and soon made a complete stop. The two of us stood up.

"It was a pleasure to meet you." Elias said.

"And the same to you. Maybe I'll see you in the halls."

"Maybe." He grabbed a bag from the overhead compartment and exited the little room thing we were in.

I stretched and grabbed my suitcase from overhead and shouldered my backpack. I clicked out the handle of the suitcase and left the compartment, went down the hall, and went out the nearest exit. This station was far less busy than the other one. And the temperature was perfect, about 75 ͒F. I wouldn't even mind walking the two miles to the school in this weather. Now, what was I supposed to do? I pulled the letter out of my bag, where he had fallen asleep-waking up grudgingly. "Someone should be waiting for you."

"Where would this person be waiting?"

"Just go to the front and wait." And so that's what I did. I sat on a bench and waited. It was about half an hour before I saw a young man, maybe nineteen, walking off to the left. He seemed to be looking for something, or someone. He had blond hair and looked quite similar to Elias, but more stern. He spotted me and began walking in my direction.

"I'm going to assume that you're Selene Fonix, the new student at the Gedonelune Royal Academy." He had a slightly snobby-or disapproving-look upon his face. "I'm supposed to take you to the school."

"How could you tell? I'm not wearing my uniform."

He pointed to the letter, which was floating beside me. "That's what I used to track you, since you decided to not go where you were supposed to be picked up."

I glared at the letter, "You told me to go wait out front!"

"My job is complete. He'll take it from here." It said hurriedly. A puff of smoke and the letter was just a regular piece of paper.

"Coward." I mumbled. The one who looked like Elias cleared his throat loudly. I turned back to him, "Oh, and I didn't catch your name. What was it?"

"I didn't say it. I'm the prefect, Klaus…"

"Goldstein." I said in unison with him. He raised an eyebrow. "I actually met your brother, Elias, on the train. He's a cute kid."

"You talk as if he's much younger than you."

"I call even my older brothers 'kids' sometimes."

"Let's go. I do wish to be back at the school at a reasonable hour."

"Sure." This man wasn't very pleasant. We began walking. "So are we walking the whole way there?"

"Are you whining?"

"No, I actually wouldn't mind walking. The weather outside is absolutely gorgeous." And I'm pretty sure I looked like I was enjoying the lovely weather-my stride had a swing to it, I was taking in deep breath of clean, fresh air, and I was smiling.

He sniffed, like I was being disgraceful. "You should be wearing your uniform. Didn't you receive one?"

"Yea, but I'm putting off wearing it as long as possible."

"Whatever for?" he demanded coolly. This topic seems familiar, no?

"Because I'd have to wear a skirt. And I _loathe_ wearing skirts of any kind. I'm a pants kind of girl. Skirts restrict mobility and ability to use defensive maneuvers. Or run. It's awful trying to run in a skirt."

"A lady should wear a skirt," he sniffed again, "It's only proper. As for the uniform, it is a mandatory requirement to wear it on all school days."

"Well, you may have not noticed, but _I_ am no lady. In addition to that, my first day of school will be tomorrow." I countered.

He stopped and looked back at me, like he was astounded at the fact that I rebounded his words in my favor. "You'll also need to learn respect for your superiors."

"You're a student. I'm about to be a student. We're equals. Also, I bet I could take you down with a few spells."

This made him laugh at me, and we continued walking, "I highly doubt you are anywhere near my level."

"I don't have to be. A single spell of mine could technically burn a person into nonexistence."

"I doubt you have the power to perform a spell a fraction that powerful." We made it to a horse drawn carriage. I let go of the handle of my suitcase and ran up to pet the large horses. The two were fine beasts.

"You both are gorgeous creatures." I said, stroking their muzzles. The nuzzled my hands.

"And they're good workers." The driver said, smiling at me, "They seem to like you, and they don't take a likin' to just anybody."

"Animals tend to like me. It's how I somehow ended up with four familiars."

"That's fair impressive."

"Can you please stop messing with the beasts and get in the carriage? We need to get moving." Well Mister Perfect Prefect sounds annoyed. Eh, whatever.

"Fine." I sighed, giving the horses one last pat. I went back and grabbed my luggage handle again. Prefect was already inside. I hefted my stuff into the carriage and climbed in. I shut the door and bounced slightly on the edge of my seat as we began moving. He glared at me and I meekly slid back and sat still. For about ten seconds. Then I got bored and pulled my earbuds out of my bag along with my phone. I plugged in (which means I plugged the buds in my ears and the cord into my phone) and went to my large music library, selecting a favorite album of mine-Bea Miller's Not An Apology. She was a fairly new singer to the scene, this being her first album. But I loved her songs, they were so empowering and many of them made me want to dance and sing along. One of my absolute favorite songs _ever_ started. I Dare You. I nodded to the beat, ignoring Prefect as he gave me a strange look. I decided not to dance like I usually do, but look out the window and lip sync.

 _"I Dare You"_

 _I can remember a time when I was so afraid_

 _When even my shadow wouldn't follow me_

 _So I, I, I'm picking up my sword_

 _To shatter all the pieces that I was before_

 _Cause I, I, I'm worth fighting for_

 _For, for, for_

 _So put me in a cage_

 _Lock me in a room_

 _Throw away the key_

 _I dare you_

 _I'll break down the walls_

 _A higher wrecking ball_

 _And I won't let you tear me down, no_

 _Throw away the key_

 _I dare you_

 _And I won't let you tear me down, no_

 _I had an opinion, but I never spoke my mind_

 _And I wouldn't argue, even when I knew I was right_

 _But I, I, I'm not that girl anymore_

 _Yeah, I lost the battle but I won the war_

 _Cause I, I, I'm worth fighting for_

 _For, for, for_

 _So put me in a cage_

 _Lock me in a room_

 _Throw away the key_

 _I dare you_

 _I'll break down the walls_

 _A higher wrecking ball_

 _And I won't let you tear me down, no_

 _Throw away the key_

 _I dare you_

 _And I won't let you tear me down, no_

 _I just kept on running, running, running_

 _Trying to find out who I was_

 _I would go the distance but it wasn't far enough_

 _But now I'm standing straight and know exactly who I am_

 _Yeah, yeah_

 _I can remember a time when I was so afraid_

 _So put me in a cage_

 _Lock me in a room_

 _Throw away the key_

 _I dare you_

 _I'll break down the walls_

 _A higher wrecking ball_

 _And I won't let you tear me down, no_

 _Throw away the key_

 _I dare you_

 _And I won't let you tear me down, no_

And so from then on I ignored Prefect until I saw we were pulling up to the school. I unplugged and turned it off in a hurry. I goggled at the school-it looked like a castle from a story book! I was grinning like a fool, as Prefect so kindly told me (and I retorted saying that he's got a stick up his behind-he didn't seem to get it, and it made me go "Ha Ha!" internally, even if he did, I wasn't paying much attention, as my focus was on the school). I began to bounce excitedly in my seat. "This is going to be awesome!" I whispered under my breath.

"Will you please control yourself." He made it clear with his tone that it wasn't a request. "You are acting like a child."

"I am a child." I retorted, "Until I'm an adult, I'm a child. Therefore I have every right."

"How could someone like you get accepted, even as provisional?" He rolled his eyes.

"Cause I got me some mad ninja skillz!" I giggled. I don't giggle like a girly girl, but it's weird to call it a chuckle. So giggle is the only word-it's not full out laughter, a snicker, or a snort. So it's a giggle.

This caused him to roll his eyes again.

' _And he thinks_ I'm _rude. Talk about a snob. Jeesh._ '


	6. Chapter 5

Updated: October 17, 2016

* * *

Chapter 5

The Prefect (I just started referring to him as that…I'll probably come up with something better later. That is, if I actually have reason to think about him again.) stopped trying to get me to calm down and just silently (and annoyedly (is that a word? I don't think so…Oh is Well, who cares? Certainly not I.). showed me to the girls dormitory and dropped me off, leaving immediately. Yay! No more Mr. Grump! I'm free from his negative criticism!

I went into the building with a bounce in my step. The matron found me and explained to me the rules:

1-No boys in your room after 6:00, and door must always be open when a boy is in your room.

2-Same rule for you in the boys dormitory.

3-No going out past 10:30 at night. The main light must be out by 11:00, but a reading light or lamp may be on past that if the roommate doesn't mind.

4-No leaving the dorm before 6:00 in the morning. After that, you may go to class or whatever it is you need to do. The first classes start at 8:00. Exceptions: on weekends, you may leave school grounds, visit home, ect. as long as you are back by Sunday evening; on other days without school, you are allowed to leave the building by 5:00, but curfews say the same.

5-Familiars are allowed as long as your roommate says it's okay and after they've been approved of by the headmaster.

6-Magic may not be practiced inside the room. It may be practiced on the balcony, as long as you take care not to disturb anyone else.

7-Clean up your own messes-if you leave a mess and don't clean it up, you will end up with cleaning duty for a week.

8-Uniforms must be worn for all classes with certain exceptions-if it was damaged or such-but it doesn't need to be worn after classes, so you are allowed to change unless you have a school function that doesn't require special clothing, like a club or otherwise.

I agreed to follow them and she smiled. I could tell she was a very kind, motherly lady. She gave me my room number-180-and sent me off with a smile. I went up the stairs, hefting up my suitcase into my arms to the second floor-the uppermost floor-and began looking at the rooms. I found it at the very back, in a corner of the building. I hesitated, took a deep breath, and knocked, hoping my roommate was an agreeable person.

"Come in!" Said a cheery voice from within the room.

I opened the door, "Hi, I'm Selene Celeste Fonix, your…"

"Roommate!" She squealed. "I've been waiting forever to get a roommate!" I took a look at her, she looked to be about the same age as Elias, so 15ish, and had tons of pretty golden orange hair and dark amber eyes to match. Her smile was one of the biggest I've ever seen; she was wearing a frilly yellow nightgown.

"Well, now you have one. I do hope we'll get along."

"So do I! Come in! Come in!" She pulled me inside and took me over to the bed by the glass door leading to the balcony, "You can have this bed, I prefer the one closest to the door."

"Perfect," I smiled, "it wouldn't feel right not being able to see outside before I sleep and when I wake up."

"Oh, my name is Amelia Nile, by the way. And the chest at the end of your bed is where you can put your stuff. And you can use the lower rack in the closet. There's also some small drawers in the desk, though I have stuff in the right half-so the left side's all yours." She had a never ending smile that was endearingly friendly.

"Do you have a brother that works at the Terran-Myulan transfer center?"

"Woah! How did you know that?"

"I met him today. He says hi."

"Wait, are you from Terra?"

"Mhm."

"That is soooo cool! I've heard that magic is just a fairy tale there."

"Yup. It's why the few of us who either came from Myula or are descended from people who came over have to be careful not to reveal it. Few magicless people know. Though it's never been a big deal for me-I live in the country surrounded by a gorgeous forest. And all of my brothers and sisters-in-law and nephews are magical."

"That's so cool!"

"I guess so. But I think Myula will be cooler."

"Maybe. So how was your trip here?"

"I met a kid who goes to this school on the train ride, and he was pretty nice, if a bit gruff. But I do believe I can consider him a friend."

"Oh? What was his name?"

"Elias."

"Goldstein?!"

"Mhm."

"He's at the top of our level! He gets the best grades and has never been known to leave first place, at least in our level."

"Really? I took him for a scholarly intellectual type, so I guess it makes sense."

"And he doesn't really tend to associate with most people, he's a little high and mighty, though he has the right to be."

"Well, we got on pretty well. He and my brother both love magical tools, though slightly different versions. Plus, truthfully, he's one of those people that if you hit the right topic, they can talk about it forever. I learned a good deal about the school that way."

She giggled, "I wouldn't have pegged him as someone like that. He's normally very strict about the rules, and is one of the boy's dormitory keepers-they're in charge with keeping people in line and making sure people stick to the rules."

"That's funny, since his older brother is the Prefect."

"Ah, yes, the famous Emperor."

"Huh?"

"Everyone calls prefect Klaus the Emperor, as he's so much like one. Klaus is the school's top students, and is graduating this year. Plus, he's the only prefect-there's normally two-and he's even been a registered Elite Wizard Knight for a few years! He's so talented and good at what he does, even many of the teachers will listen to his suggestions, and will sometimes even sub for classes!"

"Well, the impression he gave me was 'upstuck snob', and I think 'Dictator' would fit better than 'Emperor', in my opinion."

"You've met him?"

"He was the one who took me from the train station to the school. We sort of butted heads-though looking back on it, I think the look on his face when I retorted and argued back was pretty funny. I could tell that no one did such."

"You argued with the prefect?! He's said to be super strict and tough."

"Yeah, he kept reprimanding me, or trying to. But I'm good at arguments-it's rare anymore that I lose one with my brothers and sisters-and threw it back in his face."

"Wow. That's impressive. But I would try not to get on his bad side. He can be very scary when he wants to, I've heard."

"Not much scares me anymore. I bet I could take him, with or without magic."

"You're so confident. I wish I could be more like that."

"You seem fine just the way you are. Being me isn't always very fun."

She looked at a clock on the wall, above the desk which was placed in the middle of the wall on the side opposite the side the beds were on. "Woah! We should probably get to bed! It's nearly lights out!"

"Sleep does sound like a good idea."

She turned off the light and I turned on the lamp on the nightstand next to my bed. She crawled into her bed."

"I'll be going to sleep soon. I'm just going to change first. Good night."

"Good night to you. Sleep tight." she yawned before turning over and snuggling into her covers. I dug through my suitcase, not even really paying attention to it's contents, and found my pjs-cotton shorts that went to my knees with a flame pattern and t-shirt with a campfire picture and the words "I'll bring the fire, you bring the fuel" underneath it. I plugged my phone into the special charger my brother created-it stores up battery within it through several different means, solar being the main energy generator, and one was able to walk around with it plugged in and charge as you go, so it was pretty awesome-and changed while looking out the glass door window thing. We faced a small grassy clearing that went into a lovely green forest that gave me a nostalgic feeling. I sighed and crawled into my new bed, turned off the light, and went to sleep slowly.

 **Klaus's POV**

I'm sitting at my desk in my room, finishing up the last of my paperwork. I kind of wish I had an assistant. Maybe I should think about finding another prefect, after all, this is my last year and it would cut down on my workload, allowing me to focus on other things. Like getting the job I've always dreamed of having. That'd be nice.

My thoughts turned back to the new girl from earlier. She's quite firey. No one's ever argued back so strongly. It was different. It was amusing when she boasted that she could take me on and win. I still doubt that she could. Though, I could feel an enormous amount of magical energy radiating from her. But it was unorganized and untame, like a raging forest fire. She probably can't control it very well. Considering she's from Terra and has never even been to Myula, she probably hasn't had much in the way of training. I did hear the headmaster say she came from a big family, so maybe she's had some basics. But she probably isn't well trained.

She was interesting though. And fairly attractive. In a country-bumpkin kind of way. Who else would wear twin braids like that at her age? And I do wonder what that device she used back in the carriage. It almost seemed like she was listening to some type of music. I wonder if it's some sort of Terran technology. It probably is.

She also seemed like she got along well with Elias. That's good. My kid brother is too stiff for his own good. He needs to learn to make friends. And learn creativity. That girl seems like she has too much creativity. Maybe they'll become buddies. They'd balance each other out fairly well.


	7. Chapter 6

Hey! So how'd y'all like the POV change last chapter? Leave a comment and tell me what you think. I'll be changing POV occasionally, because I love revealing the innermost thoughts of other characters. I'll clearly show when I'm changing POV, and chapters will start with Selene's POV unless I specifically tell otherwise.

Oh, and I'm thinking of setting Amelia up later in the story. What do you guys think of an Amelia x Yukiya relationship? I think Amelia's bubbly personality will be good with Yukiya's quite, calm personality. Comment and vote "yea or nay" if you please!

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Updated: October 17, 2016

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Chapter 6

I was in that state between sleep and consciousness-I knew that if I opened my eyes, I wouldn't get back to sleep. But I had a chance of eventually slipping back into sleep if I kept them closed. Usually, I'll just keep them closed and sleep for a while longer-I rarely ever get a decent amount of sleep-but it's not usually my first day at an amazing academy of magic.

I reluctantly opened my eyes and forced myself to sit up. I stretched my arms skyward and hummed quietly in content as they were lowered. A good stretch first thing after waking up is always nice. It was still dark outside, only the very first rays of dawn breaking the night-time grip, but I do well with seeing in the dark-and sliver of light allowed me to see quite well. My brothers always swear that I'm part cat in that way. I, in turn, claim that the light of my inner fire amplifies the light in the darkness. Mine seems like a more reasonable explanation considering my talents, no?

I squint at the clock and see that it's about half past five. Perfect. I smile. I have time to shower before six, the time I'm allowed to leave the dorm. I want to take a walk, get to know the grounds. Plus, I like being outside, and I don't know how often I'll actually get to go when the workload of class piles up. I have to add that I'm excited to actually get to go to an actual school-not that being home schooled up until now was all that bad. It'll definitely going to be different having a schedule to follow-I've always had my choice of when and where.

I quietly crawl out of my bed and make it before going to my stuff. I use a penlight attached to my backpack to find one of my uniforms. I set it on my bed and pull out my spare shorts and t-shirt from my backpack and my underthings to wear after my shower-I want to figure out the uniform back in the room. I also grab a towel that I found last night in my suitcase, along with a toiletry bag. I don't even want to think about what other kinds of things my sisters packed-though I'm pretty miffed that they sent different underwear that I usually wear. I prefer the boxer short style, not the bikini, thank you very much. I'll just have to put up with it until I go home. Sigh…

…. …. ….

I came back from the showers feeling refreshed, my wet hair wrapped in the towel. It hadn't taken me long to find them-they were right beneath the rooms in the back, where mine was located, and there was a stairway near my room that led right to it. Makes it easier for me, hehehe. Hey that rhymed! Haha. Can you tell I'm in a good mood?

It was a little past six when Amelia woke up. I was sitting on top of my chest slowly combing out my damp hair.

"Oh, Good morning."

She yawned, "G'mornin'. You seem way to awake. What time did you get up?"

"Around five thirty. Usually I get up at five, though."

"That sounds impressive. And exhausting."

"Naw, not really. I'm a morning person."

"I'm not." She yawned again, rubbing her eyes. She got up and began to get ready, albeit sluggishly.

I finished combing all the snaggles out of my hair. When it was wet and combed like this, it fell to my elbows. Too long. I wonder if I brought any…

I began digging around in my backpack's many pockets (Have I mentioned how much I love pockets?) and came up with my favorite pair of scissors-the pair one of my sisters enchanted so they'd never go dull. I love having a big family of wizards that had all different talents-there was a sibling for any useful spell you could have ever possibly have need of. Handy, huh? I also grabbed a few hair ties and my brush.

I went up to the mirror as soon as Amelia finished using it to brush and fix her hair, pulling it back in a thick headband. "As much hair as I have, I'm glad it's not as thick and wavy as yours."

"Why do you have scissors? Don't tell me you're cutting your hair?" She seemed alarmed.

"Don't worry. I'm not half bad. And It's annoyingly long." I set the small trashcan (It was empty, only with a bag in it) on top of the dresser in front of me before combing my hair into a tight, smooth, ponytail at the base of my neck. I slid the sheath off the blade of my scissors. "Besides, one of my sister's will probably cut it again in an actual style next time I'm home. They like to make me their dress-up doll. It's fair annoying."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"Unless one is a complete hard-core tomboy like I am." I began snipping slowly below the hair tie, about the line of my shoulders.

When I finished, it ended up fairly well in my opinion. I used magic (any magic dealing with heat, like a drying spell, seems to work decently well. It's the same with light spells. I can do fire really well, and heat and light pretty well. But a water spell, on the other hand…umm, let's discuss that later…) to dry my hair, and it floated down nicely on my shoulders. It was shorter in the front, just above my shoulders, and a bit longer in the back, the longest part about the line of my armpits, because of the way I had cut it. Perfect. Long enough to pull out of the way, short enough to not take forever to brush and deal with. I found a hair clip in my bag and used it to pull back the hair from the side of my face where the part was, effectively removing it from my annoyance zone. I tucked the hair on the other side behind my ear.

Next, I changed into my uniform. I managed to get everything right but the stupid bow. Eventually Amelia, laughing all the while, came and helped me. By the time all of this was done, it was nearly seven. I decided that there wasn't enough time for a good walk, and decided to unpack. I was horrified by all the skirts and dresses my sister's had packed. There was only one pair of denim shorts and nothing but fancy, girly shirts.I'm going to strangle my sisters someday. I looked at my class schedule and found out that I was in a different class that Amelia. We were both a bit bummed about that. She invited me to sit with her and her friends at lunch, and I gratefully accepted. I've read in books about how miserable it can be to be the new girl at lunch, and having to sit alone somewhere. Glad I get to avoid that. The two of us walked out of the dorm at about 8:40.

I was showing Amelia my wand when I spotted Prefect Klaus at the edge of the school, heading towards the girls dorm.

"I wonder where the Dictator's going." I decided to replace his title Prefect with Dictator when I refer to him. It's fitting, no?

"Yeah. Do you think he has a girlfriend that he's going to meet? Because I can't think of any other reason he'd be going to the girl's dorm."

"Maybe someone's in trouble." As he turned and started walking towards us, I grabbed Amelia and started walking faster, "Hope it's not me-I was pretty rude to him." Amelia giggled. "And, he's such a jerkface and I'd rather not have to deal with His Rudeness anytime soon."

"Who's rude? Aren't you being a bit hypocritical?" Said a deep voice behind us.

"Crumcakes." I muttered. I spun around slowly on my heels, "Does His Rudeness"-I've decided that's the perfect term for him, and have used it to replace Dictator-"need something? Or am I just so amazingly awesome that you pine for my presence?" This made Amelia giggle, but she stopped with a disapproving look from His Rudeness. Klaus rolled his eyes and glared at me with a controlled expression, but I'm good with faces vs. emotions. He was annoyed. Oh. is. Well. Too freakin' bad for him.

"Actually, I'd rather not have to deal with you at all, but I've been instructed to take you to the Headmaster's office.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, "Whatever for?"

"Just come." He grabbed my wrist and started pulling me away. I looked back and shrugged with a "what-can-I-do-I'll-be-fine-in-the-end" smile at a worried-looking Amelia.

He ignored my pestering questions as he dragged me along for a while. Then he snapped, "Will you end this stream of infernal questions!? I hate mornings to begin with, and you are increasing my hatred of them."

"Deal. I _love_ mornings." But I did stop the questions, and was about to wrench my wrist out of his grip when he stopped. I yanked my hand away, rubbing my wrist. Man, he was strong. Ow… "That hurt! You don't need to be so rough! Seriously, I thought you belonged to a famous, renowned and refined family of high class. You must be such a disappointment-because you are _so_ not a gentleman!"

"Only to those who don't deserve my courtesy."

"You've been rude to me since our encounter yesterday."

"I can always tell when someone is undeserving of politeness." He removed his cloak (I don't get why there are cloaks with the warmer weather uniform, are they for decoration or something?) and knocked on the heavy door in front of us. "It's Prefect Klaus. I've brought the new student."

"Come in," a muffled voice said from the other side. His Rudeness (such a prefect (excuse the pun) nickname, am I right?) opened the door, suddenly all professional. Wow, now that someone of _importance_ is in the picture, he's all perfect prefect. Jeesh.

We walked in, him first, because since I'm no lady, there can't be "ladies first"s happening here, and there was two men-one in all black with thick black hair pulled back in a ponytail and an unamused face (speaking of similarities to Harry Potter, this guy just screamed "Professor Snape) was standing to the side of the large, regal desk, the other in nice and fancy clothing with brown hair and clipped goatee and kind eyes of the same color with a friendly smile on his face, and he was sitting at the desk.

"Welcome, Miss Fonix, to Gedonelune Royal Academy. I am Headmaster Randolph. I trust you had a nice time traveling." He seemed fairly kind.

"Yes, sir, I did. I even made a friend on the train."

He smiled, "That's good. Friends are of a great importance, but not as much as family, are they?"

"No sir." I smiled in return. If this was the headmaster, I liked him.

"How have you been settling? Do you like your roommate?"

"Oh, yes. Amelia's the nicest person I could ever hope to be rooming with."

"Good, good. Now down to business, this is Professor Schuyler," He gestured to the man in black, "He is one of your professors at the academy." The professor nodded, clearly bored.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." I said earnestly.

"First I must explain the buddy system." He said.

"Buddy system?" Like the rule where you always have to have a buddy when you leave the main group of people? That's what the rule was growing up in my family whenever we went somewhere unfamiliar or crowded.

"Yes, the buddy system. You see, in this academy buddies are dependant on each other. Their grades are tied-if one fails, so does the other-as well as their fates. Buddies are magically selected pair from random students in the school-a person may find a buddy right away, but many students will graduate without ever finding a buddy. The selection is verified when the students' school emblems react to one another."

"React how?"

"They will both..light up, to be straightforward." The headmaster continued, "Then there are a few rules of the academy you must know from the beginning. One, you must never enter the East Forest, for it is too dangerous"-Harry Potter and the Forbidden Forest, anyone?-"because of the spells cast on it to keep people from reaching the Tower of Sorrow."

"Tower of Sorrow? That sounds grim." I couldn't help but jest a bit.

He crinkled his nose in amusement, "It is quite grim in appearance. The Tower of Sorrow is where the Dragon of Time lies as stone. Most people in Myula, or at least Gedonelune, know of at least the basics about this true tale, but it is safe to say it's unknown in Terra. You will be able to learn about it in your History of Magic class as it is reviewed. For now, just heed the rule."

"Will do, sir."

"The second most important rule is to never practice dark magic-it is forbidden anywhere you go in Myula, as I am sure it is in Terra."

"Excuse me, sir, but can I make an explanation?"

He raised an eyebrow, "You may go ahead."

"Pardon my rudeness, but don't you mean _evil_ magic? Something I've been explaining for years is the difference between darkness and evil. While evil things can be dark, they can also be of light. I, for one, have read about several light spells that are deadly and evil-such as the absolute purge spell, which purges anything the caster desires to be purged, be it good or bad-and a good number of darkness spells that can help calm a troubled sleep or a burdened soul. It depends on the way it's used that determines whether it's bad or not. Some spells do have only evil purposes, but it doesn't necessary mean they are spells of darkness."

The headmaster began to laugh, "You are quite right, Miss Fonix. That may just be one of the reasons you were invited to the school-your unique logic. Speaking of school, class will be starting soon. Klaus, will you take Miss Fonix to her classroom? Come back afterwards, I have something to speak to you of."

The two of us said farewell and left the room.


	8. Chapter 7

Updated: October 17, 2016

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Chapter 7

I didn't wish to speak to His Rudeness as we walked, so I pretended to be intent on studying my wand. It wasn't hard-it was almost like the gold vein pattern shifted before your eyes. I was like how if you stared at a cloud, and saw a knight on a horse, but after a little while it looked more like a rabbit and then soon looked like something else. It has always fascinated me, and I've had it for over ten years. It seemed like His Rudeness noticed the peculiar silence.

"Now what could be so fascinating about that wand to make you stare constantly at it?" He sniffed snobbily.

"The same thing that makes one cloudwatch on a nice day. To see the shifting."

"Wands don't change."

"Mine does."

"I sincerely doubt that."

"If you don't believe me, take a look for yourself." I shoved it in his face, knowing that if he touched it, it'd shock him. My wand didn't allow many people to touch it.

He stared at it for a few seconds before his eyes widened, "I've never seen a wand like that. Is it made of wood, like a normal wand? It looks almost metallic."

"I don't know. It probably isn't-it's heavier than a normal wand." Are we actually having a civil conversation? Wow. Mind blown. "My father made it. Wandmaking was apparently his hobby."

"Why haven't you ever asked him what it was made of then?" We entered one of the grassy areas between the open air hallways.

"Umm, I don't know. Maybe because he died before I was born."

This took him aback, "Sorry." Did he just apologize? Mind blown x2.

"Don't say 'sorry' for something like that. It makes no dif…" I was cut off by a bright flash of light below my vision. I looked down and saw that the fancy pin-the school emblem-that I had affixed to my uniform this morning was glowing. _Glowing?_ I looked around. The same thing was happening to His Rudeness's emblem. No. Oh no oh no oh no oh no!

He looked just as confused as I felt. Then his eyes widened. I heard whispers around us.

"The Emperor lit up!"

"Who's that girl? Is she new?"

"She made the Emperor light up!"

And so on.

I fell to my knees and raised my fists at the sky, howling a "nooooooo!" in English before beginning a rant in my native language, albeit the older version (meaning Shakespearean style).

" _Wherefore! Wherefore wilt fate be so cruel? What hast I done to spleen Fortuna's wheel, that she wilt punisheth me so? Wherefore wilt I be made to hast such misfortune? Hast I not suffer'd enough? Oh! Woe is me! Woe is mine fate!_ " I cried dramatically. I don't care if people are watching! My dreams of actually going to a school and being normal are no more! If I was a crier, I'd be sobbing my heart out. But I'm not. I just screamed at the sky. Woe is me…

Klaus rolled his eyes as I got up, brushing my knees off and bag.

"What was that?"

"It sounded like she was speaking a different language."

"I think she was."

"At any rate, she doesn't seem so happy about becoming the Emperor's buddy."

"I agree."

"I don't think I would be either.

Klaus's POV

I blink in confusion. My badge lit up. I look up and see that _Her's_ has too. She notices mine and falls to her knees, fists in the air, like she's cursing the heavens above with the word she howls-I don't recognize the language, but I would bet that it's the word for 'no' in her native language. It wasn't until now that I remembered the fact that Terran's have different languages.

She begins wailing a rant to the sky, I can't tell exactly what she's saying, but she seems to be moaning about having to be buddied with me. How rude. And interesting. She's different, this girl.

I hear the students around us whispering and muttering.

She slumps and get up, brushing herself off. She doesn't even look at me. She walks up to one of the students and asks them something. She nods at the answer and stomps off. She's probably going to her classroom. I sigh and follow her.

As soon as we leave the courtyard, I pull her aside. She glares and slaps my hand off. "What does His Rudeness need?" She scowls.

I roll my eyes, "Now that our grades are tied, I need to make sure that you're competent enough to not bring mine down." I refrained from adding that any bad grades can severely bring down my chances at the profession I'm pursuing. "So you'll have to come to my office after classes so I can test your abilities. If they don't meet my standards, I will have to train you until they do."

"And why should I do that?" She twisted her mouth in displeasure.

"Because as prefect, I have the power to give you detentions. And that means having to spend a certain amount of time on locked in the detention center."

Her face paled. She looked frightened for a millisecond before returning to her glare. "Fine. Whatever pleases His Rudeness. But need I remind you that I have no clue where your office is? Or where really anything is, for that matter."

"I don't find the nickname amusing…shortie." It was a spur of the moment jab. She is nearly a head shorter than me, so it works out. I told her the directions to my office. She nodded nodded and stalked off, muttering something along the lines of: "I'm not short. You're just tall." I resist the urge to snort at that.

Selene's POV

How dare he! What a jerk! I stomp all the way to my classroom. Before I entered, I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself. I opened the door and walked in. Most of the seats were full. I saw Elias sitting in the front row, on the side closest to the windows—predictably with his nose in a book. There was a seat behind him. Behind that seat was a boy, same age as Elias, with dark hair that reflected blue, like a raven's wing. I went up to the seat and turned to face him.

"Excuse me, would you mind if sat here?"

He was slow to look away from the window. He looked uninterested. "Go ahead."

I sat down, putting my bag under my desk in easy reaching distance. There was an indented line carved on one side of the desk, I set my wand there. How clever, because the wand won't roll off the desk now.

I turned back to the boy and notice that he has an eyepatch over one eye. Curious. "Hi, I'm Selene Celeste Fonix. I'm new here."

He said a bored "hello" without looking away from the window. I asked his name and he answered with "Yukiya" in the same manner. I said a "good morning" to him and turned around. I reached over my desk and poked Elias in the back. He jumped.

"Good mornin' Eli."

He turned around. "Fonix! Good morning. Why did you call me 'Eli'?"

"Friends sometimes give each other nicknames, and aren't we friends?" I smiled.

His face turned pink, "Uh, of course."

"It's nice to see a friendly face after what just occurred. It's been a good-bad-worse kind of morning."

"What happened?"

"Life." I sighed. "Kidding. What really happened is that after the school welcome-slash-introduction thing, my emblem lit up on the way to class."

"You got a buddy on your first day?!" He looked surprised. "Who?"

"Your brother." I put my head in my arms on the desk.

"I am _so_ sorry." I felt him pat me on the shoulder.

I shifted my head up and put my chin on the edge of my arm, "And the worst part is he's making me go to his office after class on the pretext of training me so I don't drag his grades down! Plus, there's a reason I've started calling him 'His Rudeness'! He's such a cocky jerk!" I whined.

"Hey, it might just work out in your favor-he's actually a pretty good teacher. He was the one who taught me how to use magic in the first place."

"Maybe, but I just can't get over his personality. How in heck could we become buddies-we are anything but compatible! All I've done since yesterday in his presence is argue with him! I can safely say that I absolutely _loathe_ him." I sighed, "Sorry for the rant. I'm done caterwauling now."

"It's alright. I can imagine how you feel. My brother is…intense."

"So you're girl who lit up the Emperor." I turned to see a guy about a year older than me, with green hair and emerald eyes that sparkled with mischief. He had an emerald earring in one earlobe.

"I'm guessing you were in the courtyard during my sky-scream session." I sighed.

"That's right," he winked, "that was quite interesting, little vixen. What language was that, might I ask."

"Shakespearean English." Oh boy…I can't-ironically-argue with his calling me 'vixen', as in an argumentative or quarrelsome woman. Not after that display in the courtyard.

"Luca, what are you doing here?" Elias looked annoyed, "What made you decide to grace us with your presence?"

"Oh, did you miss me Prince Elias?" Elias turned red with anger. Clearly these two don't get on very well.

"Not at all." He scowled, "It's just that you so rarely attend class-to the point where even the teachers gave up."

"Well, this new little vixen"-I could tell the start of a nickname by this point, at least from him-"was so interesting that I just had to come and say hi."

Just then a teacher walked in the room. "Oops. Looks like this is where I'll take my leave." He winked at me, "Maybe we'll see each other around sometime, little vixen of mine." And he disappeared by the time the students were in their seats.

The teacher was a young, maybe mid-twenties, and had a kind face, silver hair, and a smile. "Okay class," he began, "I believe we have a new student today." He looked around the room. "Oh! There you are." I stood up. "I'm Professor Merkulova. I'll be teaching non-magic pharmaceutics to you today. Why don't you tell the class a bit about yourself."

I nodded, smiling. The eyes of the entire class were on me. "I'm Selene Celeste Fonix, and I live in the Lower Peninsula of the state of Michigan, in the United States of America, in the dimension of Terra."

"So how are you liking Gedonlune?"

"It's very different, sir. Much quieter than America, even the city I came into was quieter than my small town."

He smiled, "Well then, why don't you tell the class what you plan on studying to become while you're at school."

This was a long introductory. "I wish to become a Fire Elementress."

"Oh, an Element Type. We don't see too much of those nowadays, much less those who specialize in fire, the most dangerous element. You may sit." He smiled and went on to start the lesson.


	9. Chapter 7-point-5

Okay, this is a flashback chapter. All of the .5 chapter's will be. I plan to post them within a week of each actual chapter, while sticking to my weekly posting of a chapter on Monday. The .5s are really just for fun. Enjoy. Plus, these might also be shorter than a normal chapter, and be in third person instead of first person. Just and FYI. Selene is thirteen in this one, and the season is summer.

Chapter 7.5-Force of Nature

Selene was excited. Cliche start, right? But she was-it was a club night. No, it wasn't a typical club, and she wasn't actually going to be a customer, but a performer. Jack, the older brother of her youngest sister in law, owned a club. Not a normal club-no alcohol whatsoever, and there was a dress code to uphold basic modesty. To be honest, it doubled as diner during the day, but as soon as it hit dusk, the tables and chairs were moved to the sides or the back room, the floor was cleaned and readied-and it was opened as a dancing club. The fee was low, and there was usually live music.

Selene had come here often-mostly during the summer-and even had sung once or twice at an open mic night. She loved it, and always had fun dancing. But tonight was different-she wasn't here just to dance. She was filling in for the usual friday night singer, who was sick-it was last minute when Jack asked her to sub. Pleased at the request, her acceptance was immediate. All she had to do really was sing covers of requested songs and dance around-she was even allowed to sing whatever she liked if there were no more requests.

Currently, she was spinning around the empty dance floor-they opened in a few minutes. Mavin, Jack's youngest brother, age fifteen, came out from the kitchen with two plates of food and two glasses of water on a tray. He set them on a table and waved over Selene, who was eagerly eyeing the food. Mavin was one of her good friends-her sister in law and her sister in law's family was one of the few wizard families who lived in Terra, having moved when Jack was still in the womb-despite being two years older. He was also a regular performer at the Club Diner, the name of this place.

They sat down and began eating their pre-show dinner. "Nervous, Lena?" Mavin said through a mouth full of food.

"Don't speak with your mouth full." She responded.

He swallowed, "Yes mother."

"Thank you." She nodded approvingly, "And no, not really. I'm just excited-the nervousness won't set in until after it's over."

"You're strange."

" _Tell me tell me tell me somthin' I don't know somthin' I don't know somethin' I don't know!_ " She sang, making him laugh.

They continued joking around until they finished eating, "I'll take the plates back to the kitchen if you open up the doors." Mavin said. Selene nodded and ran off.

Unlocking the doors and flipping the sign to " _open_ ", she used the door stoppers to prop open the doors. She shivered a bit in the cool breeze that flowed in. Most people would be wishing it was this temp inside later. It could get pretty hot in the Club Diner when it was in club mode. She ran back to the large room and hopped onto the slightly risen (by about six inches) stage. She found the plus for the microphone and plugged it in. She tested it with a few notes and stretched. People were already starting to filter in-mainly teens. This was a popular teenage hangout, especially on weekends. Mavin came back out of the kitchen and over to the stage. In a mere few minutes, they would begin. They'd start off with whatever they felt like, probably calmer songs. Selene had already claimed the first song-she really wanted to sing one of her favorites.

Jack came out and sat behind the computer station, where he handled getting the music for the requested songs. "Ready?" He called to his brother and Selene. They nodded. Once everything was started up, Mavin took the microphone.

"Hey everybody, the usual singer is sick, so Selene and I will be taking over tonight. Let's have fun!" There was already a decent crowd, and they cheered.

He handed the microphone to Selene and she took it-grinning as wide as the Cheshire cat, at least that's what it felt like to her. "Hey y'all! I'm going to start off with something slower, but fun all the same." She put the microphone into it's holder and pulled up the stool she had set up, before grabbing the guitar, tuning it quickly, and sitting down. "This is a cover of Bea Miller's _Force of Nature_."

She started the beginning chords and opened her mouth to sing.

" _I don't know why but my hands are shaking_

 _I can see you coming and I stand here waiting_

 _Yeah I get tongue tied in the conversation_

 _It's a messed up, bad, sick situation_

 _I tried to tie my heart down, board up all the windows_

 _Oh but it's too late now_

 _I let you get too close_

 _I know I should take cover, hide inside these four walls_

 _But baby I surrender, it all_

 _'Cause you're a force of nature_

 _Look at what you've done_

 _I can taste the danger but I don't wanna run_

 _So pull me to the ground and I won't put up a fight_

 _I'm a caution taker, but baby you're a force of nature_

 _Baby you're a force of nature_

 _I feel your lips move in and they take me under_

 _You know just what to do, how to make me want you_

 _And I know I'll be broken when it's over_

 _Oh but I can't help but pull you closer_

 _I tried to tie my heart down, board up all the windows_

 _Oh but it's too late now_

 _I let you get too close_

 _'Cause you're a force of nature_

 _Look at what you've done_

 _I can taste the danger but I don't wanna run_

 _So pull me to the ground and I won't put up a fight_

 _I'm a caution taker, but baby you're a force of nature_

 _Baby you're a force of nature_

 _I'll be here 'till we collide_

 _I don't care if I survive_

 _So crash into me one more time_

 _Yeah, yeah, oh_

 _'Cause you're a force of nature_

 _Look at what you've done_

 _I can taste the danger but I don't wanna run_

 _So pull me to the ground and I won't put up a fight_

 _I'm a caution taker, but baby you're a force of nature_

 _Baby you're a force of nature_

 _Baby you're a force of nature_

 _Baby you're a force of nature"_

The crowd clapped along and danced. This sub singer was _good_. She smiled and put the guitar down, and started another, albeit faster, song. The dancers liked her, and she was having fun, singing her heart out for nearly three hours until Mavin came and took his turn. Don't you wish that life could always be this awesome?


	10. Chapter 8

Okay, I've decided to introduce something. Whenever a word in Selene's speech is _italicised_ and  underlined like _this_ , it means she's speaking in English instead of Geolunan.

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Updated: October 17, 2016

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Chapter 8

The lesson was quite interesting. We were starting a new unit, one I knew all too well about-treating burns. Easy peasy.

While I can't be burned by fire (it's weird, I know, but my brothers and I just assume it's because of my abilities with it), I can still get sunburn (because the sun can burn anything-it's the flippin' sun after all) and get scalded by steam and hot water. I was asked what plant is the best for treating mild to semi-bad sunburns. It was so easy, anyone could have gotten it-Aloe Vera. You use the gel-like substance inside it's stalks to rub over the burned area after washing it gently with cold water, reapplying when necessary.

After that, I had a class on practical magic taught by Professor Schuyler. It wasn't easy peasy.

I got called on again to use this magical water jewel thing-the name of which I can't remember for the life of me-to help me make it sprinkle inside the classroom. Have I ever mentioned that I can't really use water magic? Both Elias and Yukiya were called to do it before I was. Elias did it perfectly and got praised. Yukiya accidentally made thunder clouds. My try was worse.

I somehow made it, instead of sprinkle water, cause warm little light drops to fall and putting small gold-shimmery splatters on everything (they did blow right off). I got a zero for incorrectly doing the assignment, though my classmates thought it was cool (and that I somehow did it on purpose-which I assured them I didn't. At least I didn't make it rain frogs or anything…right?).

The next class gave me a start-the headmaster was teaching! It was my Gedonlune history class. I enjoyed this lesson, and I wasn't even called on! In fact, we learned about the Tower of Sorrow and the Dragon of Time. It really was a fascinating story-I just love it when history is able to become a tale that even the barest truth of a tale is mesmerizing.

My last class was taught by a very young professor, who was maybe twenty-one or so, and was called Professor G by most of the students because his full last name, 'Giovanni', was difficult to pronounce. According to Elias, he had just started teaching last semester. This was my class on Types of Magic. I thoroughly enjoyed this class-summoning magic wasn't something I've studied before. Since they were in the middle of a unit on summoning magic, he pulled me aside and gave me a list of some books and other materials that would help me catch up, as well as an offer to help me with any questions I had. He was a very nice teacher, clearly well liked by most of the students, myself included.

I was about to go skip off to replenish my food cache in my bag (I had forgotten to eat breakfast this morning in the midst of everything-a mistake I won't make again, because it meant that I ate a lot more of my stash than usual between breakfast and lunch) and go find a nice place to study-then I remembered that I had to go to the office of His Rudeness.

I groaned internally at the thought. I'm just going to have to make do with what I have until dinner. Then my stomach grumbled. _I_ grumbled and dug a granola bar out of my bag. This morning, snacks made up 80% of the weight in my bag-now they were nearly gone. I ate my chocolate and peanut butter chip granola bar as I made my way to His Rudeness's office. I found a door that was labeled "Prefect's Office" by a brass plaque on the door. I knocked my own signature knock ' _knock-knock knock-knock knock knock-knock bang!_ '

The door flew open to reveal a glaring Klaus. "Was that really necessary?" He growled.

I raised my palms upward and shrugged, the picture of innocence, "But that's how I always knock."

He rolled his eyes and stepped back, "Come in." It was a command, not a request. Jerk. I stepped in anyway-the sooner this is over, the better.

I sat on the arm of a chair and looked around. "Nice place you got here."

He didn't respond, just went and sat at his desk. He started looking over some papers, "I heard you messed up a simple water spell in Professor Schuyler's class."

"Water magic has never worked for me. It's the opposition to my natural element, fire."

He still didn't look up, "That's no excuse."

"It is when I attempt ice magic. I've only tried a few times, but each time it blows up in my face and knocks me out."

He looked up at this, "That's just sad."

I glared, "But my abilities with fire more than make up for it."

He rolled his eyes and looked back at the papers, "I'll assess your abilities after I'm done here."

Klaus's POV

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, young man." She sounded like a mother just then. I resisted the laugh that wanted to be let out.

"Yes, mother." I deadpanned without looking up.

"Thank you." She humphed, "And I'm going to ask you to stop being a jerk, otherwise I might just get fed up with your attitude and singe your eyebrows off." I snorted.

I glanced up to see her pull out that device that she used yesterday. She put the little buds in her ears and tapped the front of it a few times. She then closed her eyes and started moving her lips to the lyrics of a song and swaying to a beat I couldn't hear. I decided to ignore her for now. Strange girl.

I finished up the task I was on and looked up to see her studying me, her weird device still playing, only one ear occupied.

"Do you need something?"

She looked as if she was holding back laughter with the tight and twisted smile she had on her lips.

"Is something funny?" I glared.

"Your face." she started laughing this weird giggle, like she was trying to keep it silent but wasn't doing a very good job-she was shaking with the effort. She wiped away an imaginary tear, "Sorry, that was mean. You were just so serious looking, it was like you were handling some grave life-or-death matter, but the thing is, it isn't. Just ignore me. I find the strangest things to be ridiculously funny."

I shook my head, "You are a strange girl." Huh. I actually said it aloud.

"Yup." She grinned, and I felt a twist in the pit of my stomach, "and proud of it."

"You're proud of being abnormal?" Strange, strange girl.

"Yep. It's no fun being normal." She winked, "I like to live life like I'm going to die soon. It helps me be far more positive and grateful for what I have. Besides, why spend any of a precious life being boring? It's senseless."

"I think your logic is flawed. One should always be preparing for the future."

"I agree."

"Then aren't you going back on what you just said?" I was confused. ' _What is with this girl?_ "

"No, I said to live life like you're going to die soon-I didn't say not to be prepared for the life you may have left. Live like you've a short life, prepare for a long life. Expect the worst and hope for the best."

That actually made some sense. I'm surprised.

I double take. Something's different than yesterday. Her hair's not braided and is it…"Did you cut your hair?"

"Actually, I did. It was far too long so I whacked it off this morning before school. It was getting annoying." She looked back at her thing. Her cut didn't look half bad, actually. It made her look older. How old was she? Yesterday she looked like an older fourteen-year-old with those childish twin braids, but with the shorter hair that was down, she looked nearly seventeen. Since she's in Elias' class, I'm going to guess that she's an older fifteen. She's definitely a bit older than my brother.

We've gotten off topic. "Put whatever that is away and get your wand out. We have testing to do."

Selene's POV

 _Finally_. I was ready to get this over with and _leave_. I have homework to do…or would it be considered dormwork, since we don't actually do it at home? I think I'll keep to calling it homework, to keep things simple. Or should I call it dormwork, just to be special? Nah, I'm ' _special_ ' enough naturally without adding to it.

I wound my earbuds around my phone and pulled my wand out of the waistband of my skirt, since there was no pockets or beltloops on this dratted thing. "Ready, Freddy."

He gave me a strange look, "Who's Freddy?"

It was my turn to roll my eyes, "It's a rhyme expression thing, _idjit_."

"What did you just call me?" His facial expression was annoyed, and I found it funny, though I refrained from laughing.

"That's for me to know and you to look up later." I smirked. Oh how I love being bilingual-it means I can insult people without them having a clue what I'm saying. At least, unless they're bilingual with the same languages, like the rest of my family, but hey, I don't usually need to insult them. In addition to that, Klaus looked miffed that I knew something he didn't. He-he-he the fun of being me-me-me.

"Moving on from your strangeness, shortie…"

I was a head shorter than him, "I'm not short, you giant-I'm just not extremely tall like you." He had found something to annoy me with. Oops. Oh is Well. I'll just have to find something to hang over his head that annoys him more.

He smirked. Oh how I've come to loath that smirk. And I haven't even known him for twenty-four hours. "I'm going to be putting you through a series of magic drills and testing you on book knowledge. Prepare yourself."

Oh joy. This is going to be _fun_. Not.

Klaus's POV

I put her through various tests. The results:

Can't even use water magic and failed completely at the basics. Even attempting ice- or cold-related magic made her weak-had to take a break.

Can summon wind, but has a hard time controlling it (had to have her clean up office-moved the rest of the tests outside).

Is able to use weak earth spells, mainly for cleaning purposes.

Did well with light- and heat-related spells.

Uncanny ability with fire magic, is able to manipulate it very well. No problems here.

Uses a different language for spells-some words are similar, like 'ventos' and ' _ventus_ ' for wind, others, like fire, she uses ' _ignis_ ' instead of 'flau'-she claims that it's an old Terran language that works better for her spells, called ' _Latin'_. I've heard of wizards using this language instead of the usual spells words. Must research this.

Is fairly competent in some forms of book knowledge. Is best with plants and animals-especially herb uses and canines.

History knowledge is severely lacking, at least in Myulan History. Is excusable in this part because of where she lives and because she has a strong desire to learn more of this subject.

Has an interest in magic tools, but is unfamiliar with many from Myula.

Math skills are average, has little motivation to care about subject.

She does have a large amount of magical energy, but it's wild and uncontrolled-as well as easily drained by ice- and water-type magics. Need to focus on the basics in her training.

Also, her stance is off on all but fire. Her stance when using fire magics is far more natural for her, and it works. The others not so much. She seems self-taught in most of her magic. Have her sibling's taught her nothing?

Note to self: drill the basics into her skull.

And yes, I will have to train her. Not only because I don't want her to affect my grade, but because of the offer that the headmaster made in our conversation this morning. If I can get her to pass her Judgement and get decent grades for the rest of the year, I'm guaranteed my dream job. Dealing with her attitude and quarrelsome tendencies may be worth it for that. Plus, I may as well consider it training for myself in dealing with difficult students.

Yes, it just might be worth it.


	11. Chapter 9

Updated: October 17, 2016

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Chapter 9

It was about twenty minutes until curfew when he finally let me leave. It probably would have been sooner if I hadn't bungled that wind spell. I was supposed to make a small vortex on the end of my wand and sustain it for as long as I could, but within seconds it spiraled out of control and I had to drop my wand to get it to stop. The whole room was a mess. I didn't mind having to clean it up-it was my mess, after all-but he didn't need to be so mean and rude about it.

At the end, he sent me off with orders to report to him at the same time the next day to start training. Lucky me…

I was stumbling my way up the stairs to my room, I was so tired. I hadn't felt so magically drained in a long time. Of course, I haven't attempted water and ice magic like that in a long time. I could use fire for such a long time I had never been able to fully test how long without weakening in the slightest. A single water or ice-especially ice-spell made me dizzy and weak. I hate the cold, have I mentioned that?

I could barely open the door to my room with the complication of the key. I took wobbly steps to my bed and collapsed. Amelia was at the desk.

"Are you okay?" She sounded concerned.

"Just tired. I didn't expect him to be so serious about testing my magic." I sighed, "Though from what I've seen so far, I should have. I have to 'report to training' tomorrow." I sighed again, "I never get to be normal, do I? I should have known Fate promised Fortune to keep me from being so. Bye bye my dreams of being a somewhat-normal schoolgirl."

Amelia expressed her pity before excusing herself to finish her homework. I gasped, remembering my own, and groaned at the thought. Oh, woe is me…

…. …. ….

The next morning, I woke up at five twenty to the vibration of my phone. I had synced it with the clock in our room so I could use its alarm. I made it to bed sometime around one, so fourish hours of sleep. I've survived on less. If I get at least an hour or two, I can go all day, at least, if I get more the next night. I can do this. It isn't until after I've showered and made it back to my room that I realize I'm sore. Not physically, but mentally. Sore is a good thing-it means that if I keep it up I'll eventually toughen up, right? Does it work that way? I hope so…

I manage to get the bow correct(ish) today. I was never very good at fancy knots. I always tie things to be sturdy over pretty, There's a reason my family always has to cut the ribbons off my gifts to them. After brushing my hair and putting it into a messy bun to keep it out of my face (I rarely wear it down like I did yesterday, it gets annoying fast), I tie the laces of my tennis shoes (thank the sun I can wear my tennis shoes instead of the pinchy, fancy shoes most girls favored) and grab my bag. Amelia is just waking up. I say goodbye to a groggy Amelia and head downstairs. It's a few minutes until breakfast-it starts at six-but it hopefully will be open by the time I get to that part of the dorm. I missed dinner because of His Rudeness and his stupid tests, and I'm ravenous. I had to restrain myself from eating through my stash of food. I did my best, but I plan to phone home tonight and ask for more snack food to be sent from home. By the time it'll get here, I'll probably be running dangerously low. Good thing my brothers understand how fast my metabolism is.

There's only a few girls in the large dining room, all of which are half-asleep. It's set up buffet style, thank the sun. I grab one of the large plates and pile up as much food as the plate will fit. I go sit down and dig in. I feel a tap on my shoulder and see a girl standing behind me. She actually looks awake.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" she asks.

"Go ahead." I respond, smiling.

She sits down, "I don't recognize you, are you new?" This girl looks to be about eighteen, an upperclass(wo)man. She had pretty dark brown hair that fell to her waist, with the princess braid up top (where a lock of hair from each side of the face is braided back and they merge in the back to where it looks like a circlet from the sides), and kind eyes of the same color, with pale skin that was a cream color. She looked like she'd be one of the popular girls who didn't know she was popular.

"Yeah, I am actually. Yesterday was my first day. I'm Selene Celeste Fonix." I held out a hand.

She smiled and shook my hand, "That explains it. Your name is very pretty. My own is Isabella Maria Ravenswood."

"Hey, we both have the first-slash-middle-names-end-with-the-same-vowel thing going on."

"Yes, we do it seems." She laughed.

I remembered something, "Do you happen to have an older sister named Sarah?" Sarah's, sister-in-law #3, maiden name was Ravenswood, and I do remember her mentioning at some point that she had a younger sister.

She looked surprised, "I do actually. She's married and has a baby."

"Does she live in Terra? Is the name of her husband Matthew? 'Cause, if she does, I think she's my sister-in-law."

"No way! She did mention that among all of Matthew's brother's there was a little sister somewhere." She grinned, "Well, it's nice to meet that sister. I've been meaning to go with Sarah over to Terra at some point and meet her in-laws. Now I have a reason to go sooner rather than later."

"Hey," I was nearly done with my food (don't underestimate how I can eat without anyone the wiser), "you're welcome at any time. If you don't mind having to share a room with someone or sleeping on the couch. There's a ton of us." I mentally counted, "Umm…if my numbers are correct…there's me, seven brothers, six nephews, and three wifes. There are also three girlfriends that often take over the guest room."

"Wow. I don't even think that there's that many even in my extended family. I think I only have, like, five cousins, and it's just my sister and I, no other sibs. Your family will be huge by the time you have kids."

I laughed, "It's already pretty big. And I think that one of my sisters is pregnant, so by the time I have kids I think I'll have lost count. I do know one thing though, too many more and families with children will be staying in hotels when we have reunions." I noticed that I had no more food on my plate. "I should be going. I didn't get to take a walk yesterday morning because I had to unpack. I'm looking forward to it."

"If you don't mind, I can go with you. Has anyone given you the grand tour yet?" Her plate was empty as well, though she had a more normal portion size than I did. I shook my head. "Then it's decided. I've been here long enough that I know this place pretty well, if I do say so myself."

"Sounds awesome. I was hoping I wouldn't get lost while I explored. Now I've a guide." I smiled-well, to be honest, I haven't _stopped_ smiling, so I guess that I just _continued_ to smile.

Klaus's POV

I was doing my morning rounds when I saw Selene walking with a girl in the class younger than me, Isabella Ravenswood, I believe. Popular girl, completely opposite of what I've seen in Selene. I wonder what they're doing together. Out of the corner of my eye I see Selene point to me, and the other girl laughed. I decided to listen in when I turned the corner, pretending to continue on my rounds. I hear their bags scrape the stone bench at the edge of the courtyard.

"So you got a buddy on your first day, and it turned out to be the Emperor? How is it, being the buddy of someone like that? I've only talked to him in passing, or when he's subbing for one of my classes. He seems intimidating."

"It's not much fun, I'll tell you that. His Rudeness is so mean. I know that he's right about most of his sharp comments, but he doesn't have to _be_ so sharp with them. I'd get the message if he was a bit less harsh. Plus, I've done little else but argue with him."

"His Rudeness?"

"My personal nickname of scorn for him." Ravenswood giggled and I clenched my jaw for a second. What is wrong with that shortie? I don't go around badmouthing her.

"Cute. I lit up about two years ago, my third year here. My buddy, Alan Blackwell, and I didn't get along at first, but we became friends after a few months. We actually started dating nearly a year ago." She giggled again, "I still call him the nickname I gave him when we first became buddies. It annoyed him to death for me to call him Ali. Eventually he got over it and just accepted it."

"I probably won't call him that forever-just until his tongue dulls. But I think he's graduating this year, if I recall. I think his brother mentioned it. So I might not have to deal with him after then, thank the sun."

' _She has no idea what she's in for._ ' I smirked-she was going to be trained nearly to death, and wasn't going to be able to escape me just because I graduated. Not with the career I was pursuing.

"Thank the sun?"

"I've never been sure if there were any gods or goddesses out there, so I've always relied on the sun, something I know for a surety is there."

Ravenswood laughed, "That makes sense. But hey, it could be worse. There are worse people to be buddied with. At least you'll be able to do fairly well in school-he doesn't seem like the type to allow his buddy to bring his grade down. And maybe one day you'll get along, and perhaps after that…" I felt a twist in my stomach.

"If you are implying that we will start dating like you and Alan did," Selene cut Ravenswood off, "I swear I will burn you. What is it with people suggesting that I'm going to find my 'true love'"-She put such an emphasis on the two words in a manner that mimicked swooning-"at this school! First Sarah, now you! With His Rudeness, no less! You two truly _are_ sisters! I'm going to be telling my sister-in-law about this conversation we're having! She'll think it's hilarious." She exclaimed.

Wait…is that how they know each other? It appears to be. The twinge in my stomach ends and I'm just left feeling annoyed. Good thing I know how to keep my face professional, at least.

"Man," Shorty paused and made a sound, like she was stretching, before continuing, "Thanks for the tour. I would have taken twice as long to explore. What time is it...oh my, it's nearly seven thirty. You'd think more kids would be in the school."

"Not on this side. These courtyards are where practical magic classes are held when they aren't in the classroom. They tend to be deserted in the morning. I often come here to finish up homework before class. It's always peaceful. And I do see your buddy come through time to time on his rounds, but other than that, no one."

My rounds! I had completely forgotten-what's wrong with me? I walk quietly until I'm out of earshot and continue along my usual morning route.

Selene's POV

I bid Isa, as she told me to call her, goodbye, and headed towards my classroom. Gosh, I'm glad no one heard that conversation! How could it even be suggested that His Rudeness and I might actually become…boyfriend and girlfriend. I shudder at the thought. That wouldn't end well for me, I'd be nothing but bullied, and if I ever start dating, the guys will be a nice, kind, thoughtful guy who is accepting of my 'uniqueness' and quirks. If there wasn't a guy like that, then Oh is Well-I just wouldn't date. I'm actually not even planning to have a boyfriend until after I've finished school. Or marrying until I'm at least in my mid-twenties. My mother might have been happy at marrying and becoming a mother at nineteen, but I'd rather wait.

I actually told her that once, when I was six. Her response was that I probably would, unless I just met that one man who I knew would stay with me and treat me right for time and all eternity. Then, she said, even you would immediately accept his marriage proposal at eighteen or nineteen. Especially if he was a few years older than you.

I told her maybe, but maybe not. She laughed. I smile sadly. I miss my mother. I hope that I can end up with a personality like hers. She told me that she went through a lot of hardships for her happily ever after, and it was a happily ever after, until the very day she died.

I went through my classes that day, leaving my heavy and philosophical thoughts behind for now, immersing myself in the work. I was enjoying myself. Magic lessons were fun. I did mess up half the time but, hey, it could be worse, right? It wasn't until I headed to the prefect's office that I wish I could go back to the dorm.

Wish me luck, readers, wish me luck. I'll need it.


	12. Chapter 10

Updated: October 17, 2016

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Chapter 10

' _knock-knock knock-knock knock knock-knock bang!_ ' I knocked my special (obnoxious) knock rhythm. "Selene Celeste reporting for training, Your Rudeness." I sounded world-weary and reluctant, which is what I was going for.

"Come in." Klaus sighed from the other side of the door.

I turn the handle, open the door with a ' _woosh!_ ', and walk in pouting. He didn't even look up from what he was doing-which was paperwork, just to let you know. His job seemed to consist of paperwork at least half the time. I sat on the edge of the same chair that I did yesterday and stared at him blankly. It was a few minutes before he looked up, with an eyebrow raised.

"Do you need something? Or is staring at people a hobby of yours?" I could hear the unspoken " _I wouldn't put it past you_ " clearly.

"Yes, I do need something, in fact. I'm hoping that if I scare you enough, you'll let me leave. I do have my own stuff to do, like, I don't know…homework."

He ignored my sass and rolled his eyes, "If you're so bored, why don't you clean? There's a duster in that cabinet over there. Also, there's several piles of paper over there. You will need to organize them in numerical order."

"Ex- _cuse_ me?" I put my hands on my hips and crossed my legs, "I'm not some kind of slave, you know. Slavery is illegal everywhere in Terra, and I'm pretty dang sure it is just as outlawed in Gedonelune, or any Myulan country."

He smiled evilly, "It's not slavery-just think of it as an unpaid internship."

I glared, "If you like twisting things around to make them seem better than they are, just become a politician, why don't ya?"

"Get to work."

Klaus's POV

She stuck her tongue out at me, but got to work anyway-after getting that device of her's out, of course. I turned one eye back to my work, but kept another on her. She started to dance around the room cleaning. It was almost like she was enjoying it. Strange girl, protesting to something she turns around and has fun with. I focus back on my work.

When I look up thirty minutes later, she's working on straightening a bookshelf. She get's all but the top shelf. She put her hands on her hips and glares at it like she did at me earlier. I see the problem. She's too short to reach more than the bottom edge of it. She scans the room and spots the short stool by the door. She drags it over and stands on top of it to tidy up the last bit of the shelf. I glance around and notice that she's straightened up everything in the room but my desk, organizing and cleaning. She pulls the things out of her ears.

"I cleaned the room." Turning to face me, she continues, "I didn't know how you want the books organized, so I left them in the order they were. Can I leave now?"

I restrained myself from rolling my eyes, "No. Start your homework-I'll be done soon and we can start training."

She rolls her eyes and sighs exasperatedly. She puts away her device and the listening attachment and pulls some things out of her bag before sitting cross-legged on the ground by the tea table. She picks up what appears to be some sort of strange pencil and begins writing.

"What, no music?"

She glares at me, "It's distracting when I'm trying to do something that isn't repetitive or monotonous. Lay off." She returns to her work, and I do to mine.

Selene's POV

First order of homework: Professor Murkulova's essay. It needs to be on treating burns vs. treating frostbite. I've treated both in various degrees, on myself and others. Simple. The only problem is, I don't know all the translations for the names. _Lavender_ , for instance.

"Hey Klaus."

"Yes?"

"I don't know the Geolunan word for this herb. In English, it's called _Lavender_." I described all of the properties I could remember, including how it looks.

"It's called 'Redneval'."

"Thank-a-you."

He didn't answer.

I managed to get the essay done, as well as start the question sheet assigned by Professor G. I also had to make a magic circle-something I've heard of, but have never actually used-for his class. I had to find a book to copy that from. I thought that maybe Klaus would have one, since he's all smartsy, but I decided to just ask Amelia. She has Professor G, too-plus, I'd rather ask her than His Rudeness. _He'd_ probably just look down on me even more than I know he does. I was only half way through the worksheet when Klaus stood up from his desk.

"Put that away. It's time to start your training." I sighed and did as he said. I know I'm not going to get out of this, but if I can survive until I take my judgement, I can stop having to put up with this and live my life. It's only twoish weeks, right? I've dealt with worse. Hopefully I can make this more than the bravo it sounds like.

I followed him to the courtyard Isa had taken me to this morning-it was actually pretty close to the prefect's office. "So, Your Rudeness, did you see me this morning? I saw you leaving this courtyard as I was entering with Isa."

He turned to face me, "Do you mean Miss Ravenswood?"

I nodded, "Mhm."

"Oh yes, I did. I heard a great deal too."

Klaus's POV

Her eyes widened, and her face turned slightly red, "How much?" She asked carefully. I wanted to say "all of it" but then she'd know I was eavesdropping.

"Oh, just the part about my 'sharp tongue' and how utterly awful I am." Her red coloring faded and she sniffed.

"I won't take it back. It's entirely too true." She retorted stubbornly. I now almost regret not saying I heard it all. Almost. But it's time to focus on training.

"First thing you'll be doing is learning basic control over your abilities. Meaning wind. Create a small tornado-type vortex on the end of your wand and hold it for as long as you can without it dying or losing control.

She holds out her wand, and says something in that strange language of hers, " _I command thee to create a vortex of wind on the end of this wand! Ventus Parun!_ " The miniature tornado appeared on the end of her wand, wobbling for a moment. It straightened itself out and kept going. I looked at her face-her brows were furrowed, her nose was wrinkled, and her lips were pursed, giving her a look of absolute concentration. I checked her stance. It was off. Her legs were too far apart-they're supposed to be even with your shoulder's-and her arms were to close, when they were supposed to be about the same distance apart. And she's holding the wand incorrectly, like it's a pencil.

She manages to hold it for nearly a minute before it blows up in her face, quite literally, and knocks her back onto her behind. She gets up, brushes herself off, and is about to attempt it again when I say, "Wait." and go over to her.

Selene's POV

"Wait." Klaus stops me from trying again and comes over to me, "Your stance is off."

"My stance?"

"Yes, your stance. If your stance is off, it can affect the spell you are trying to cast." He stands behind me. "Have your legs be about even with your shoulders." He reaches from behind and places his hands over mine. "Your arms should be about the same distance apart. And your wand isn't a pencil, so you shouldn't hold it like one." He spreads my arms to the distance he said and changes my grip on my wand. I can feel his heartbeat, slow and steady, against my back. I feel heat rise to my cheeks, not tons, but enough to be felt. "Hold this stance and try again." He lets go slowly and backs up. My own heartbeat has sped up. What in heck is wrong with me?

I repeat the spell while keeping this new stance. It only feels a little unnatural to me, and I know I'll be able to adjust to it quickly. This time, I hold it for nearly two and a half minutes before it blows me onto my butt. My hair's falling out of its bun. I pull the tie out and put it on my wrist, shaking my hair out. I'll fix it in a second. I get up and brush off my skirt. Boy am I glad I have shorts on under this. I don't want to have to worry about flashing anyone. I don't think my shorts have even been seen, anyway, so I guess it won't really matter until it happens. But still, preparedness simplifies things. Better safe than sorry, am I right? "Give me a second." I run over to my bag, which I dropped at the edge of the courtyard. I dig through the smaller pocket on the front and pull out my smallest brush, the one I carry around. I yank it through my hair quickly and shove it back into my bag. I begin to braid my hair headband fashion as I walk back over. I was worried for a second that my hair wasn't long enough and would be falling out all over the place, but it seems like I'm good. I twist the tie around the end of the braid, which is under the remaining hair, and ready my wand for another go.

By the end of the session, it was nearly seven-thirty. And I was ravenous. I felt like I was going to collapse. I nearly did. I pretty much had to drag myself over to my bag and eat something before I fainted. Where was dinner? Did I miss it? I sure hope not. After I ate enough of my snacks to regain some energy, I stood up and shouldered my bag. "Man, I really need to eat dinner! I'm _starving_!" I moaned, clutching my belly and I left the courtyard. Klaus was right behind me.

"Do you always carry food with you? Are you seriously so impatient to wait for meals?" Klaus said.

"Yes, that's right." I said sarcastically, "But I also have to eat regularly or I collapse. That's what happens when your metabolism burns through food like a fire does dried leaves. Except, instead of smoke as a backlash, it's going through more food than all of my brothers."

"Have you ever thought that it might be connected to your abilities with fire?"

"Uh, duh. I'm not stupid, and I do happen to have seven smart older brothers. You'd've thought we'd've come up with that at some point during my sixteen and three-quarter years of life."

Klaus's POV

Wait, she's almost seventeen? That makes her only three, not four, years younger than me. Huh. Saying something about my misconception of her age, though, would do nothing but make me look stupid. She doesn't act like she's that old.

"Anyway," she continues, "do you know when dinner is, and when it ends? 'Cause if I've missed it because of you…" she lets the threat dangle.

"Dinner is from five to nine. You've plenty of time."

"Great. I'm going to go replenish my energy. Bye!" She runs off with a speed I wouldn't of guessed she could achieve. I guess she is hungry. Or fast. It could be both. With her, it's hard to tell about these things. She's so strange. How many times have I called her that in the past few days? I've long lost count.


	13. Chapter 11

Hey everyone! How are y'all? I've survived my second week of school! I've been having fun. I can't believe that it's already Monday again! There's a few downsides though...like less time to write and such, but I'm going to be at my mom's next weekend, so I'll be able to stay up as long as I want on Friday typing!

Truthfully, I'm on...chapter 21, I believe, but I've decided that if I stick to the one chapter post a week, it'll be a long while before I run out of chapters.

But here's a deal for you, if I can get up to twenty reviews (I'm currently at 7, so 13) I'll post another chapter before next Monday, but it won't count if it's only a few people making several comments each. You guys can do it! I'm over 600 views, so I know that there's more than a few people reading this. Plus, if you guys get up to thirty, I'll post the first in a series of one-shots I'll occasionally post for Wizardess-the first one will be with Klaus. I'm counting on y'all!

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Chapter 11

I get back to my room around eight thirty. Amelia wasn't there. I decided to take a shower tonight instead of tomorrow morning, and by the time I got back, around nine, Amelia was back.

"Hey Amelia. How was lunch?" I didn't go with her and her friends today, like I did yesterday. I went to the library after scarfing down my food, and tried to find a good history book that would help me catch up. I met Elias there, where he apparently like to study, and he helped me find one.

"It was okay, though it would've been better if you were there. My classmates like you."

I smiled, "Sorry. I had to find a history book that'd help me catch up. I know a decent amount of Terran history, but when it comes to Myulan…I find myself severely lacking. I'll probably be able to go with you guys tomorrow. I had fun."

"Great."

"Hey Amelia, is there any place where students might be allowed to cook? I really want to bake tomorrow morning-it's the best stress reliever ever because you end up with something yummy."

"Fun. We're allowed to use the student section of the dorm kitchens as long as we clean up. Most people use it for practicing making magical sweets-there's a unit on it coming up in Professor Murkulova's class, as well as classes that the upper levels can choose to take. So, next year for us. That's when we get to decide what to specialize in, or just take generals like we have been so far, but more advanced. I'm going to work towards becoming a healer."

"That's awesome, all of it. I've never actually had or made magic sweets. That'll be fun. And you go girl-healing can be really difficult. And messy at times. I think I'll look into going towards the elemental route, fire style. But the magic sweets sounds like a fun thing to include. I'm definitely making regular sweets tomorrow morning before class. I think I'll try to get Blayze to bring my some stuff from home for it."

"Blayze?"

"Oh, he's one of my familiars. I somehow have four. Though one pretty much has become the familiar of one of my nephews. But Blayze is a pheonix immata with a will of his own. He's like a cat most of the time-comes around and only does what he wants when he wants. He tends to take bribes, though. He's also able to travel between Terra and Myula as he pleases-and can take stuff across with him if it isn't living matter. He often takes care packages back and forth for my brothers and I if I can bribe him with a few treat foods."

"That's so cool! What are your other familiars?"

"The one that now is attached to my nephew is a wing-rabbit-this particular nephew is very calm and quiet, more so than I am, so it's understandable. The other two are a fox and wolf that I nursed back to health after a really bad storm a few years ago that left both of them orphaned. The wing rabbit's named Sakura, the wolf's Alva, and has the most beautiful pure white fur and golden brown eyes, and the fox is Arian. He's got a handsome silvery coat and black eyes."

"You should bring them to school. I wouldn't mind."

"I probably will after the next time I go home. I miss them, but I'll be alright. Speaking of familiars…" I went out to the balcony and did the whistle that called Blayze. Soon I saw a bird that shimmered in the nearly faded light. Blayze was here, his fiery colors of the day no longer-his feathers looked like coal and ashes after dark. I still think it's awesome, and Blayze has been with me since I was four. "Hey, come inside and meet my roommate. Also, I have a favor or two to ask."

I held out my arm and he landed on it, careful as always not to puncture my skin or even damage my clothes with his sharp talons. I went back inside the room, leaving the door to the balcony open. It was a warm night, and Blayze hated being in closed rooms for extended periods of time-to much like a cage, I guess. "This is Amelia. Amelia, this is Blayze."

She walked over, "He's handsome." Blayze lifted his head proudly. He's such a sucker for compliments.

"His feathers are the color's of fire during the day-it looks like he's flaming when he flies. But when it gets dark, they turn these colors. You can pet him if you want-the back of his neck is his favorite spot." She proceeded to do so, eyes sparkling.

After a minute, I told Blaze to perch on the top of the back of the wooden chair at the desk because he was getting heavy. He did so, thankfully, and I shook out my arm. I scribbled a note on the back of a piece of scrap paper. "Blayze, would you mind taking this back to the house and bringing back what I asked for? It may take a few trips, but every trip taken means another homemade treat for you-but it doesn't count if you don't take as much as you can every trip. It shouldn't take more than two or three. Could you help me out here? Please?" Blayze squawked and held out a foot. "Oh, thank you!" I used a piece of yarn-from the ball I always kept around my room for this purpose-to tie it around his foot.

He flew out the window and disappeared. Thankfully, one of my sisters was at the house and gathered the stuff for Blayze. Three trips later, and I had all I needed for cookies and a replenished food cache. Then I started on my homework. Amelia was awesome and had the book I needed. I even managed to get to bed a bit before midnight, so far earlier than last night. Thank the sun.

…. …. ….

The next morning I got up at five, showered, got everything ready in my bag for school, got my baking ingredients together, and headed out to bake by five-fourty. I'd eat breakfast afterwards. I needed to bake my stress a- _way-ay_! I was fully awake and cheerful. I made my way to the kitchen with the directions given to me by my awesome sauce roommate. I'd have to remember to make her some cookies.

It turns out making enough for Amelia wasn't a problem. I had plugged into my music and just baked. I was so used to making enough cookies for most of my family, that I habitually made a bunch of them. I ended up with five dozen cookies. 65 flippin' cookies. Even _I_ can't eat that much-especially when I knew that I'd be baking regularly with my stressful schedule. So I settled with two for this morning. I know, I shouldn't be eating cookies until after breakfast, but they smelled _so_ good. I did eat a large breakfast, so don't judge. The other's I divided up into little bags of nine, leaving me with seven bags. One for Amelia, Elias, Isa, Yukiya (he seemed like the type who didn't really have friends, and he forgot what my name was yesterday, clearly as out of it as when I met him. I wanted to make sure that didn't happen again. I did want to be his friend.), and I planned to use it as a bribe for Luca-he actually came to one of the classes yesterday, albeit because he found my screw-ups to be ridiculously funny. Maybe I can bribe him into actually coming to classes-he didn't seem like such a bad sort, just bored and a bit lazy. Okay, pretty lazy. And it also seemed like he was closed off to everyone-like he didn't trust anyone. I know how that can feel-there was a point in my life where I felt that I could depend on no one but myself and I had to take care of everything by myself. It's seems to be the extreme of what he feels, but then again, I nearly ran myself into the ground at that point in my life. It was _not_ fun.

That leaves me with two bags. I know one is going to be for me, but who should the other one be for…? I thought for a few minutes, and came up with Klaus. Eh, why not? I may not like him very much, but maybe cookies will soften his attitude. Hey, don't underestimate the power of perfectly made chocolate chip cookies. They better be perfect if I made them-I've been making chocolate chip cookies since I was _two_. I even created the perfect recipe for homemade by tweaking my mother's recipe and many trial and errors.

Carefully putting them into the top of my bag, I headed down to breakfast. It was about six-forty, and there were a good deal more students here than there were at six. Not tons, just more. According to Isa, the breakfast rush started around seven. I got my breakfast and spotted Amelia. I went and sat next to her. "Hey roomie. How's your morning?"

She was still a bit bleary-eyed, "Sleepy."

I grabbed one of the bags out of my backpack, "This help you wake up?"

She straightened and grinned, "Definitely. Thanks so much. You didn't have to make me anything."

"Take it as a sign of goodwill." I looked around like I was making sure no one was listening, "And as I sign that I made five dozen because I wasn't paying attention." She giggled. "I'm serious-I'm so used to making enough of everything I make for at least eight people, often more, especially within the past few years, that I make a lot out of habit. I just was in the zone and forgot that I don't need to cook for a ton of people. But you got cookies out of it, and so will several other people, so all's well, no?"

"Who else is getting cookies? I hope I'm one of those people." I heard Isa behind me. I reached a hand in my bag, pulled out another packlet-I know it's not a word, but just humor me-of cookies and turned around.

"I guess, I definitely have enough to spare some for you." I jest, handing them to her. She smiles as she accepts one.

"Thank you. I've been wanting to try some of your sweets-my sister just _loves_ them. I think she brags about your cooking more than our grandmother does about us." I laughed, remembering how Sarah told me about her doting grandma.

"Wow. I knew she liked them, but not that much."

Isa smiled, "I've got to be going, I'm helping a teacher set up class today, and I just dropped by the dorm to return something to a friend. See you."

"Bye." I returned my attention back to Amelia. "Sorry 'bout that."

Amelia looked surprised, "You're friends with Isabelle Ravenswood?"

"Yeah, it turns out that she's the younger sister of one of my sister-in-laws."

"That is so cool! She's one of the most popular girls in school! Everyone loves her."

"I can see why. She's pretty awesome and really nice. People like her are easily liked."

"Many of the underclassmen either want to be like her or are in love with her. She's just as famous as the Emperor, though for very different reasons."

"Yeah, like instead of mean and harsh, she's nice and kind."

"You just attract the well-loved and powerful people, don't you?"

"And don't ask me why-I can't see a reason. I'm argumentative and quarrelsome-and I know they're synonyms-and nothing but a troublemaker. I swear, my only redeemable qualities are fire magic and cooking."

"That's not true! You're being too hard on yourself." Amelia exclaimed.

"Eh, not really. You should see me on April Fools' day. You wouldn't think so highly of me then."

…. …. ….

I went to my class and gave people their treats. Elias looked downright happy-in his reserved manner-and Yukiya even smiled! It made me feel accomplished. Heck, I even got Luca to stay in all of our classes, with the exception of Professor G's, with the promise of more sweets to come-he looked bored at points, but it was progress!

After school I went to the prefect's office again. I just straightened up without asking so I could get started on my homework as soon as possible. I managed to get nearly two thirds of it done before Klaus said it was time to start training. I was pretty proud of myself.

Today wasn't a practical magic day. It was focused on history for the first hour, non-magic pharmaceutics for the second hour, and we spent another hour and a half on magic circles. That took longer because had to go really _slow_ with my copying of patterns or I knew it'd look wrong. But overall, Klaus actually seemed pleased. He even praised how well I knew herbs-it made me really happy for some reason. I decided to give him the cookies before I left, at about seven-thirty.

* * *

Authoress Fonix: I've decided to start adding the little chapter ender's like in the game, except with more than two people.

Selene: Can I go now that you've said that? I need to get to training before Klaus comes after me...again. *bites her lip nervously* He got quiet mad last time and I'd rather not be scolded like that again...he can be quite...ah...mean at times. And after last time...let's just say I don't think my heart could handle much more...

Authoress: *laughing* Can't have that, can we? Oh, looks like it's too late... *laughs evilly as a certain Emperor approaches*

Klaus: Selene! You tried to skip out on training again! What am I going to do with you? *smirks*

Selene: Umm...forgive me because it was the Authoress's fault...?

Authoress: Don't blame me, you know I'm pretty powerless between scenes!

Klaus: What have I told you about excuses? Let's go...*picks her up and throws her over his shoulder as she thrashes and struggles* I'm going to work you to the bone this time. Hope you're prepared...

Selene: Help me, you traitor!

Authoress: *waves pityingly* Sorry! Between chapters I don't control any of you! This is _all_ him! Good luck!

Authoress: Anyway, I better go, because while I don't have much power over them at times like this, I can try to make sure that she isn't scarred to terribly...*sweatdrops while shaking head* Bye y'all!


	14. Chapter 12

Hey everyone! How's your weekend been? Mine was awesome-I got to go to my mother's house in Ohio, and spent the weekend cooking, shooting an air rifle (man, my arm hurts-I reloaded that heavy gun over a hundred times-but it turns out I'm a pretty dang good shot, I even beat two of my mother's friends in a competition. In the dark-at like ten at night!), spending time with my mother, and playing with my awesome dog, Remi. Only I didn't get much sleep or much homework done either. Oh is Well! It was worth it...I hope.

I was a bit disappointed that you guys didn't get this chapter earlier-I only got two reviews, so it didn't meet the quota I asked for. But Oh is Well! You're getting it as per original schedule! Don't worry, though, I'll probably be doing something like that once every month or so.

In this chapter, Selene and Klaus have a _moment_...! I had fun writing this chapter. Plus, as oblivious as Selene is at times, Klaus can be just as thick about certain things. Like his own feelings.

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Chapter 12

Klaus's POV

She had done pretty well with the book-lessons. It turns out that she had checked out a history book and has been reading it between classes, so she was already catching up with other students, faster than I had expected. She seems to enjoy that subject. And her knowledge of herbs and their uses was more extensive than I had believed-the main problem was translation. I would ask her about an herb, and she would say she's never heard of it, but when I started to describe what it looked like, she'd go, "Oh! That's _!" and tell me what it's medical properties were. I was proud, though I wouldn't tell her that. Though my saying "good job" made her face light up like a Midwinter tree, making her look strangely young and innocent- and made that twist in my stomach return. Why does she do that to me? I connected it with her, now I have to find out the why.

And seriously, can't she act one age? She's constantly shifting from child to teen to mother and back again, like they're all different modes that she has. It makes me wonder how she was raised. Strange girl. That's what I think so often around her, because I keep thinking about her-her training, her behavior, her different expressions. Why? I couldn't tell you. She's affecting me in a way different than anyone else has before, in a way that I can't tell if it's good or bad. It doesn't seem to be harmful.

Back to the proper train of thought.

According to what she's told me, she's never used magic circles before coming here, so it's something completely new to her. She copied them over from a book she was borrowing from her roommate, careful to make it exact. She was slow but steady, and didn't do half bad. I told her to practice and learn to do it quicker, to which she responded, "If you want an artist, talk to Marvin." who is apparently one of her older brothers. She has seven. I wonder what growing up in such a large family would be like. I'm the middle of three, and Percival, my older brother, wasn't around very much, because of his training to become the Goldstein heir took up a good chunk of his childhood, so it was usually just Elias and I. It must have been chaotic, judging by her personality. But it must of been fun-a lot more relaxed than the strict household in which I grew up. I've gotten off track again. What is this child doing to me?

Afterwards, I told her training was over and she could leave, but reminded her to practice on her control of wind magic. She happily began putting her stuff away into her strange bookbag from Terra, she called it a _backpack_. "Oh! I completely forgot!" She pulled something out of her bag and walked over to me. "This is for you." She held out a little bag of…cookies? "I made five dozen by accident this morning-I'm so used to making things for a crowd that I made as much as I usually did. I've been giving them out to various people today. Elias seemed especially happy." I was surprised, but accepted it with thanks.

"Of course he would be. He has a terrible sweet tooth, even to the point of always carrying some around."

She laughed, "I didn't know that. I do the same thing! I'll have to tell him that in class tomorrow."

"You seem to really like my brother."

She smiled happily, making a new kind of emotion shoot through my heart, another one I couldn't identify, and spoke, "Yeah. He's a nice guy, and a friend. He's been quite helpful, always answering my questions-and I ask a lot of them." She does. I think she's asked me more questions than I've quizzed her on. "He even helped me find that history book when I ran into him at the library during lunch yesterday. Plus, he was the only one who'd pair with me in practical magic because everyone else, as nice as they are, didn't want to have their grade drop. I still feel bad about that-someone told me that it was the first time they had seen someone else besides Elias in the top spot. I was apologizing for the rest of class."

My eyes widened, "He must really like you, otherwise he wouldn't risk his grade like that."

"I'm just friendly to him. I find it works nicely with most people." Except she's rarely like that to me. But when she is, I find her quite likable, so I can see her point.

I stand up, "Would you like some tea?"

This surprises her, "Umm…okay?"

I get my teapot and gather up other supplies.

Selene's POV

"I didn't know you liked tea-you seemed more of a coffee person to me. Though I don't think they have coffee here." I was genuinely surprised.

"Of course. I have it at least three times a day."

"Wow. No wonder you seem like you're a pro at it." I was impressed, "I've never really made tea before, or had any. Unless you count those nasty medical herb ones that I've occasionally had to make." I shivered at the memories. They were utterly _vile_.

He chuckled. Chuckled?! That's a first. "Then I hope you like it. I made milk tea. I thought it would go nicely with the cookies." I had pulled my own bag out-I had made myself hold off on eating them, because I planned on eating them after dinner-and started munching on a cookie. Yum…

This was a different side of Klaus I hadn't seen before. He was actually being quite pleasant. It was a nice change. He handed me a tea cup on a saucer. I accepted it and took a sip. Not sweet enough. I saw that he was using this fancy little spoon to put sugar into his cup. Three heaping spoonfuls. He stirred it around.

"Looks like it isn't just Elias who has the sweet tooth." I commented, using the little spoon I had on my saucer to put three and a half spoonfuls in before stirring. I sipped. Yum. Perfect.

He rolled his eyes, but it was more playful than usual, a little amused smile on his mouth, "Mine isn't nearly so severe."

"You know what," I continued, "I think that you might like my hot chocolate. I'll make you some at some point." He raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

Klaus's POV

I refrain from telling her that hot chocolate does exist here, and that I have had it before. It's alright, but tea is still better in my opinion. It's Elias who's partial to hot chocolate.

"Trust me, hot coco is my tea. I am the master of the melted chocolate drink of the divine beings that may or may not exist." She seems proud of this, "I am able to cater it to any taste or season-though I am not fond of the new 'frozen hot chocolate' fad in Terra. I tried it, and it just tastes weird. It's a ruining of the original." She shudders, "Plus, it's cold. I am not fond of cold _anything_ , especially when it's trying to invade my favorite drink. Though I'm going to have to say that this alone has made me fond of tea-it's really good." She eats another cookie.

That makes me smile. She can be quite pleasant when she wishes to be. I take a bite of one of my own cookies. They're quite good, the best, I dare say, that I've had in a while. They're balanced wonderfully in the areas of crunchy and gooey, soft and hard. They must of been even better when they were fresh out of the oven. I remember my mother making cookies when Elias and I were young, and she would let as us one as soon as they cooled enough to eat. Remembering this, I have an idea. I set my cup down and got up, walking over to the bookshelf to grab something.

"How would you like to see something?"

Selene's POV

He brings a book over to my and sets it in my lap after I set my cookies and tea to the side.

"What's this?"

"A photo album."

I raised an eyebrow, "Like a family photo album?" He nods, standing behind me. I open to the first page and see a picture of a young boy, maybe six, with striking violet eyes and golden blonde hair, in fancy formal wear. His face shows the type of serious look that little kids struggles to make for a formal picture, "Is this…you?"

"Yes."

I squeal, trying to keep it quiet, "You were such an adorable child!" I turn the page and it's another one of Klaus, maybe ten, with a little boy around five who shared the hair and eye color, but with a much more childish face, tugging at his sleeve-a dog at the edge, a big, slim puppy. A Doberman, I think. I gasp, "No way…is that Elias!?" I cover my mouth with my hands, "Oh my gosh! He's so adorable! You Goldstein boys were the cutest kids ever!" I contain as many of the squeals as I can as I slowly turn the pages. There's one of Klaus and Elias being tackled by the dog, who's trying to lick them as the two giggle and laugh. There's one of a five-year-old Klaus holding a little violet-eyed baby Elias. There's one of a eleven-year-old Klaus running around with a laughing Elias clinging to his shoulders. There's one of a six-year-old Elias with what I recognize as his wand, staring at it with wonder. So. Freakin'. CUTE!

Klaus's POV

I watch her face as she giggles and squeals and "awww…"s at the photos. It's making me happy just to watch her like this. I start telling her stories about some of my favorite particular photos, like when Elias first got his wand. She's mystified. It's amusing, to be honest. What is it about this child that fascinated me so?

Then she says something that makes me start, though I didn't show it. "Elias said that you guys had another brother who was about four years older than you. How come he isn't in any of these pictures?"

I sigh, "He was often too busy in his training to become the family heir to interact with us much, especially after Elias got to be a few years old. We're friendly, but not very close."

She looks sadly at the book, "That's not right. Siblings should have the opportunity to have a strong relationship with each other. I know that I love each of my brothers and would hate to not to be able to know them."

That's right. She has quite the large family. "I agree, but what's done is done."

"Not really. You two probably could gain a decent relationship if you two started communicating. Communicating is essential to any good relationship. I'd be sending him letters, friendly ones, not business letters, and the such. Doing anything I could to get to know him better." That's something I hadn't even thought about. She's right. But I decide to steer away from this subject for the time being.

"What about your brother's? What are they like?" This seems to cheer her up, and she launches into descriptions of her brothers. She chattered animatedly, and I can clearly tell she's close to them.

After that, she realized the time, and swore. Well, her version of a swear, which seems to be "Crum!" or "Crumcakes!" most of the time-neither of which made much sense to me. She thanked me for the tea and the talk, grabbed her stuff, and hurried off to go eat dinner and finish her homework. This whole thing left me feeling very warm on the inside, and not uncomfortably so. She wasn't all that bad of company once you got past the argumentative attitude. In fact, she could be downright pleasant. And this new feeling was making me panic a bit. Was it bad, or good? It didn't feel bad, but I couldn't entirely tell. My mother would definitely like her, I knew that much. They weren't all that different, albeit the fact that my mother was a lot calmer. But maybe that just came with time-my father had once told me that she was one of the most energetic girls he had ever known as a young man, excepting only one. Her best friend, the older princess of Geolune, who disappeared leaving only a letter announcing that she eloped at the age of nineteen. I also remembered him telling me that very few people knew that truth.

Now I'm starting to think like that buddy of mine-she had told me earlier that her trains of thought become so skewed and switched tracks constantly and ends up thinking about things that have nothing to do with her original thought. I shake my head at that. Strange girl.

Selene's POV

I run back to my dorm room and gather my shower stuff. I've decided that it's easier to do it at night, especially if I'm going to start baking in the morning. Afterwards, I finish my homework sometime around midnight.

As I crawl into bed, squirming into an odd but strangely comfortable position, I feel satisfied. Klaus isn't all bad. I feel like I know him a bit better than I did. Maybe this buddy thing will work out after all.

* * *

Authoress: Man, Klaus. You were such an adorable child! And look at Elias! * _Squee!_ * He's a munchkin! But in that one photo you look like a mini-man! Oh my gosh! *laughing*

Selene: I have to agree with the authoress. You were so dang cute. *playfully smirks*

Klaus, with a amused smolder in his eyes: Aren't I?

Selene: And you're so modest, too!

Authoress: Isn't he?

Klaus: Why don't you show me some of your childhood photos sometime?

Selene: I don't look all that different now. The biggest difference is that you couldn't attempt to force me into anything other than a t-shirt and jeans without getting severe, fourth degree burns. Of course, my sisters always tried. The only reason they don't have stumps for arms is because they ganged up on me and they're all wizardesses. Plus, if it weren't for the shoulder-length hair, I would be mistaken for a boy ten times out of nine.

Klaus: *smirks his classic smirk* Well if you won't show me pictures, I could just collect a kiss instead.

Selene: *flushes and backs away from the slowly approaching man* In your dreams, _Casanova!_ You _know_ I can outrun you by a longshot-and am good at covering my tracks, and don't forget the fact that I can burn you to the netherworld.

Klaus, moving even closer: It's already to late for you, shortie.

Authoress hastily transports herself to the room Elias is studying his script for a several chapters later in, making him jump: Hey Eli. Klaus was starting to put the moves on Selene so I left. How's that studying going? What is it? Can I help? I'm pretty good with all of this stuff, I do have to write it.

Elias, looking up, face blank: You really need to find a way to control him between sets.

Authoress: *sighs* Don't you think I've tried? That man is like a bull, once he charges, you can't stop him, and oftentimes trying to gets you mauled.

Elias: That's your problem.

Authoress: Meanie! He's your brother, you do something! Sadly, I happen to be a _muggle_!

Elias: *sweatdrops* A what-now?

Authoress: Oh boy, get ready for a heck load of explanations.


	15. Chapter 13

Oh. My. Gosh. I just realized how freaking fast that developed last chapter. I feel like I should have saved that for later. One minute they do nothing but argue, the next they're civil and polite. Woah. I guess it just goes to show that one should never underestimate the power of cookies. They can move mountains. Of cookie ingredients. Haha…my sense of humor is pitiful sometimes…make that most of the time. Sigh…

Anyway…I've got a fun chapter in store. At this point I don't really care if I'm doing scene's out of order-it's fanfiction for a reason. I'll be including things I like and adding other's I've made up and enjoy. I just have to hope that everyone else does too.

Get ready for some serious magical awesomeness.

Chapter 13

The next morning I made preparations for hot coco. I have a special way of mixing powdered coco mix (it's homemade, we buy the beans and make our own mix-I do not skimp on my coco.) with other (secret) powders to make it perfect. It makes it into a just-add-water type of thing-though there is a special way of doing it. I also made some of those no-bake peanut butter cookies with the oatmeal stuff in them-they don't take that long and are really pretty good.

This time in class, something out of usual occurrences happened. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw the note on the door of Professor Schuyler's classroom telling us that the class will be meeting in the large practice courtyard. I was about to head over when I nearly ran into Elias.

"Elias! Elias! Class is outside!" I bubbled.

"Uh…okay. Why are you being so loud about it?" He questioned.

"Because! I haven't really been able to be outside when the sun's not below a horizon for days now! I'm like a plant in that manner-I need sunshine, more than what I've gotten since I've came here."

He just shrugged and began walking with me-well, I was skipping-towards the courtyard. By now, he's gotten used to my out-of-nowhere-and-completely-random antics and just ignores or tolerates them. Most people do after a few days. I pull off the cloak that goes with the uniform and stuff it in my bag (well, I folded it nicely then stuffed it into my bag) after we get there. About half the class was already there. We went over to Yukiya, who was sitting on the grass. I dropped my bag to the side and flopped down, laying in the sun. I closed my eyes and let the sun warm me, humming slightly with content.

"Oh, you're part cat, too, little vixen?" That was Luca. Definitely Luca. I recognized the voice-and the fact that he was the only one who calls me that.

"Nope." I said, despite the fact that I was now stretching like one, "Just part fire phoenix. And maybe part sun maiden." I opened my eyes and sat up, propping myself up with the palms of my hands. "That was nice. I needed that." I saw Luca standing next to Elias. I gave him a look, "From where hast thou comest?"

"What?" He asked. "I. Am. Sorry. I. Do. Not. Speak. Your. Tongue." He said it slowly like he was talking to a foreigner. Which technically I was-though I was fluent in the native language of this land (excluding uncommon words).

"Where did you come from?" I repeated in Geolunan, rolling my eyes at him and standing up.

"From a land across the sea, but I missed my dear little vixen so much, I decided to return, just so I could see you again!" He sighed dramatically, grabbing my hand and kissing my knuckles, while looking at me and waggling his eyebrows. I just shook him off gently and laughed.

"Are you sure that it wasn't because I supply you with cookies?"

"You have more?" That was Yukiya who asked. He sounded the most excited that I've hear him. I think that was also one of the longest sentences he's said to me. Progress baby! Whoohoo!

"I certainly do. For all three of you!" I had given Amelia and Isa there's this morning. I hadn't made as many this time, but still enough for each of the seven recipients (one of which is me, I will admit) to each get six. I knelt down and opened that pocket on my bag that held the cookie baggies, pulling three out. I delivered them to three grateful boys, all of which were excited.

"Little vixen, I must say that you are the best little baker."

"As much as it pains me to agree with Luca, I must agree."

"Yep."

Can you guess who said what?

Just then the professor walked into the courtyard, causing Yukiya and Elias to tuck their cookies into their bags and take them and set them next to a bench (I did the same). Luca just put his no-bake cookies into his pocket. I'd half to warn him that they can melt if he does that, and make getting them out of the baggie to be quite a messy endeavor. I'll tell him after Professor Schuyler gives instructions.

"Okay class." He began. "Today is an umbra attack day to work on defensive and offensive magic." He asked Elias what an umbra was.

"An apparition of the castor meant to fulfill the job they were created for, whether it be to send a message or attack."

"The textbook would have told me the same thing." That was really the only thing that teacher's criticized Elias for-being to by-the-book, though it never brought down his grade. "I will create enough umbras to last the duration of the exercise-as many as are needed, so don't worry, they won't run out." I swear he glanced at Elias. Typical. Even if he was extremely by-the-book, he got done what needed to be done. I assume that applies in this type of lesson. "The goal is to defeat as many as possible. The more defeated, the better the grade. You may work in pairs, but the amount defeated by either will be added and split between the two. The only magic allowed is that of the elements. Miss Fonix, what would those be?"

"Earth, water, air-slash-wind, fire, and sometimes lightening because it's debated upon whether it should count!" I said with enthusiasm.

"Correct. Although lightning is rarely considered to be it's own separate element. It depends on the wizard. For this exercise, only the four-earth, water, wind, and fire-will be allowed." He paused, letting it sink in. I saw some of the students slump-the elements tended to be the most difficult types of magic because they're the most raw magic spells.

"Luca, I challenge you. Whoever gets the most wins." Elias whispered. This sounds interesting.

"Why should I do that?" Luca responded.

"Because I want to play, too. This sounds fun." I whispered, smiling.

He thought for a moment as the professor continued talking about element spells, "Since my little vixen wishes to play, I guess I could also. It might just be fun to watch her bungle this."

"Hey!" Now I was offended, "Don't underestimate me!"

"Aw, is little vixen mad?" He teased, "I'm sorry." I glared at him and turned my attention back to the Professor Schuyler. Oh, I am so going to win now.

"Be warned-my umbras aren't nice. Now begin." And with that, the professor pulled out his wand to cast the umbra spell.

Oh. My. Gosh. This is awesome! I've done similar things with my brothers, but not in a long while. And, it's elemental magic only! Get ready for the burn.

I pulled my wand out of my waistband and went to an empty section of the courtyard, spreading out with everyone else. I glanced around, ready for battle. I saw umbras begin to speed away from the professor. A few went towards Elias, Luca, and Yukiya in their respective spots. Elias began using water magic to take them out, while I saw the air start to swirl around Yukiya, raising a bit of dust. Luca just stood there, bored. I turned my attention back to myself. Several were coming towards me. I grinned evilly. I flicked my wand wordlessly and a whip of fire streamed out of the tip. Out of all the fire weapons I've learned to create, this one works best for situations like this, where I'm being surrounded by several unarmed creatures. Let's do this.

Klaus's POV

I was done with my work for the time being and decided to walk around. It was a nice day. And I remember Professor Schuyler telling the headmaster that he was taking his classes outside for an umbra attack lesson when I was delivering something to the teacher's lounge. Those were always interesting. The main purpose was to test fighting magic skills-depending on how well someone does and how much they improve at them each time can help them get into certain classes and help with the aptitude tests they take. The aptitude tests have pre-entered data-by use of magic-to decide what questions should be on the test for that specific purpose, helping narrow down possible career choices for a student. The class of Elias and Selene will be taking them in the week before Midwinter break, to get their results during the break. I remember taking them at that age, nearly five years ago. I was pleased with my results.

My thoughts are interrupted as I reach the edge of the courtyard where the class is being held. This is the class of my little brother and buddy. It looks like they've just started. I spot Selene looking around, she saw the ones coming towards her and slid into what seemed to be some sort of battle stance. She flicked her wand and a whip made of fire came out of the end of it. My eyes widened-I've never seen magic like that. I've heard of powerful elementalist wizards who've been able to use weapons out of the elements-but only for earth, water, and wid. Never for fire-it's the hardest one to control because it doesn't like being held in a specific shape. I knew she was talented with fire, but not this talented. She flicks the whip and takes out an umbra. She smiles, almost scarily, and begins flinging her arm in calculated strokes, spinning on the tips of her feet to get the ones to try and go behind her. I can't keep track of how many. She almost looks likes she's dancing, and she's laughing like she's having the time of her life. I look away for a second and see that Professor Schuyler has noticed her.

It's a thing of beauty, what she's doing. I've never seen anything like it. She starts switching hands to keep in rhythm with this battle dance she's created. Some of the students freeze and watch her-until an umbra grabs their hair or arm and begins to pull. Elias is completely focused on his task, and Luca Orlem-a troublemaker and a continual ditcher of classes-seems to be playing with some by whisking them around in the air. If I had to guess, Elias challenged him to another competition. Luca is powerful, but lazy and untrained, while Elias is completely the opposite-average power level, but highly trained.

I turn my attention back to my buddy. She's switched the whip to what appears to be some sort of spear with a larger blade. It's made entirely of fire and comes out of the end of her wand. One hand is on her wand, and the other makes it's place on the shaft of the magic weapon, a spot made of fire. I must admit that puzzles me-how is she not being burned? Did she use some sort of spell to prevent it from burning her? I'm unsure of how she could be holding two separate spells in place at once-that's a very high level of magical skill, one I can only do with simpler spells. How is she so talented in fire magics, but attempting the simplest of water spells makes her weak? This makes no sense. She probably would have mentioned having a magical contract, which is the only thing I can think of. To have this type of magical ability through a contract, it's need to be with a magical creature, a strong one who has fire abilities. The only creatures like that I can think of are fire phoenixes and dragons-both of which are extremely rare, and no one has seen a dragon in nearly a century. And phoenixes are extremely shy. They're more cautious of humans than wing-rabbits.

I watch until the remaining umbras vanish and the professor calls them in. They line up and he casts the spell to show the amount they defeated. I wonder who will win the bet, Luca, or my brother? The numbers appear. Elias has forty-three. Not bad. Luca has thirty eight. I can see Elias's face turn red as he gets mad at Luca and starts telling him off, saying that he really didn't try to his fullest extent. Then Selene walks over to them, her glowing number following her, blurring as it moved so I couldn't tell what it was. She poked them, one with her left pointer finger, the other with the tip of her wand. Luca recoiled from the wand like it was burning.

"Oops. Sorry. I forgot this thing needs to have time to cool after that much fire magic. And…look at the score I got. It think we have a winner!" I looked at her score the same time the other two did. 83!

Selene's POV

"Selene! How in heck did you manage that many?!" Elias exclaimed, utterly flabbergasted. I noticed that he only got forty three. Wow. I think this might be the first time ever I've beaten his grade.

"Actually, I've done this kind of thing various times with my brothers." I stretched. Under a week of little exercise has already lowered my tolerance. Maybe I should start running in the mornings…but that would mean even less sleep…ugh. "I was a little off my game today though-it's been awhile since I've been able to do this, with my brother's so busy with school and families. My record is much better. On average, though, I usually get between 85 and 90."

Both of them looked astounded. "What is your record then?" Elias inquired.

"One hundred eighteen. It was one of those days when I was just completely in the zone. But that was about a year and a half ago. It was awesome! My brother Jonathan-he's the oldest-has some mean umbras, and that was after I figured out how to make a double fire whip and how to use it."

They looked at me in awe, a face that I could've never imagined them having. I shifted uncomfortably.

Luca was the first to snap out of it. "Well, it seems like the little vixen has a trick or two up her sleeve." He smiled and slung an arm around my shoulders, which I shrugged off.

Elias looked at me, still in shock, it seems. "The school record for an umbra attack session is only 89. And that was someone two years older than us nearly three years ago."

"Who?"

"Klaus."

"Pfft…" I began laughing uncontrollably, falling down and rolling on the grass.

Klaus's POV

"I can't believe I'm better at something magic-wise than His Rudeness! Oh! This is awesome!" She was rolling on the ground giggling hysterically. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. She's acting like a child again. I remember that class is almost over and walk off. That was interesting.

She came close to breaking the record I had set the last time I had participated in one of these, a few months before I became prefect, which is why I haven't done one in so long-to busy. And from what I heard, her personal record is much higher. She just might make it into this school after all. If she can figure out how to properly use the other kinds of magic, that is.


	16. Chapter 14

Guys, I'm sorry for posting this so late, but since I missed school on Friday when my family went to go visit my grampa, I've been swamped with makeup work-even though I did as much as I could before I left. Also, I'm going to be applying for my first part time job soon. And I'm the chairperson for my school's Key Club Blood drive on October 30, so I've got everything I need to do for that. And I'm not even caught up with my homework yet! At least my Honors Chemistry and Algebra 2 hw is done...

To akane-sama: Thanks! I tend to have to constantly shake my head at the naivety of the game's MC-love the game, but not the stereotype girl who's the main character. And don't worry, the moments of his jealously are coming, slowly building in the next few chapters before finally blowing and causing a good deal of damage. And it will be followed with a plot twist that I think will be fun, at least for me.

A just to make this clear, she's on day four of her trial-so it's Thursday. It took me awhile to figure that out.

And sorry, but this chapter's a bit shorter than normal, but don't worry because the next one is going to be fun!

 **Also, I've put a poll up for this story. Should I bring Randy in? If so, I've got an awesome plot idea for it, but I'm not exactly sure where to put it quite yet...anyway, let me know!**

* * *

Chapter 14

After class I went to the prefect's office. I had a good day-I didn't even have to actually use magic after the umbra attack lesson! That made it easy, because I am catching up in history and never had trouble with non-magical pharmaceutics (excepting when there were names I didn't know the translation of-but it's not that big of a deal, because Professor Merkulova is forgiving of that because Geolunan is my second language). We also began a new unit in Professor G's class-amulet magic, another form of magic I knew naught of. I love this class, just because it's all new to me and I have a clean slate to learn on. Who knew that certain types of amulets could take the place of a wand as a magic conductor? Cool, right?

Next, it was time to head over to Klaus's office…wait. When did I start referring to him by his actual _name_? I guess it was because of the civil conversation we had yesterday, right? Eh, who cares. A lesson I've learned in my life is that sometimes fighting and being stubborn just makes life difficult, and it's easier to let go of the little things. Like a name. At least, in my head. Out loud…that's a different story.

I eat one of the little packages of peanut butter crackers from my bag stash as I approach the office. Dang, I really need to send home for more tonight-my options are shrinking. I knock my special (it annoys him, hehe) knock, ' _knock-knock knock-knock knock knock-knock bang!_ ' and I hear a gruff and muffled "come in." I open the door and skip in.

"Hola, senor! Como estas?" I giggled. I'm in a giddy mood all of a sudden, don't judge. I'm not sure what was in those crackers, but I'm giggly now.

Just kidding. I'm annoying him on purpose.

He just looked at me blankly for a moment before rolling his eyes and ignoring me.

Oh. Right. He doesn't know any Terran languages. Whoops. That failed. Haha.

Moving on. I put my bag down and began cleaning. I've only been doing this for three days previous and I'm already used to a routine-but they say it only takes three days to make something a habit. I manage to finish dusting and Klaus tells me a list of chores to complete. Today I have some books to organize and papers to sort. I plug into my music and begin. I'm dancing slightly as I do, to Immortals by Fall Out Boy.

 _~They say we are what we are,_

 _But we don't have to be,_

 _I'm bad behavior but I do it in the best way,_

 _I'll be the watcher (watcher) of the eternal flame,_

 _I'll be the guard dog of all your favorite dreams,_

 _(Ooh)_

 _I am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass (glass, glass)_

 _(Ooh)_

 _I try to picture me without you but I can't_

 _'Cause we could be immortals, immortals_

 _Just not for long, for long,_

 _And live with me forever now,_

 _You pull the blackout curtains down,_

 _Just not for long, for long,_

 _We could be immor- immortals,_

 _Immor- immortals,_

 _Immor- immortals,_

 _Immor- immortals,_

 _Sometimes the only pay off for having any faith,_

 _Is when it's tested again and again everyday,_

 _I'm still comparing your past to my future,_

 _It might be your wound but they're my sutures,_

 _(Ooh)_

 _I am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass (glass, glass)_

 _(Ooh)_

 _I try to picture me without you but I can't_

 _'Cause we could be immortals, immortals_

 _Just not for long, for long,_

 _And live with me forever now,_

 _You pull the blackout curtains down,_

 _Just not for long, for long,_

 _We could be immor- immortals,_

 _Immor- immortals,_

 _(Immortals)_

 _And live with me forever now,_

 _And pull the blackout curtains down,_

 _We could be immortals, immortals_

 _Just not for long, for long,_

 _We could be immor- immortals,_

 _Immor- immortals_

 _Immor- immortals_

 _Immor- immortals_

 _(Immortals)_ ~

Klaus's POV

I glance up and see that she's dancing to whatever music plays from that thing of hers as she works. It's fairly amusing, even if I get that strange feeling in my gut. A few days ago, we did nothing but argue, and now we've fallen into a routine. And our conversation yesterday was nice, I'll admit that. She's almost like a sponge the way she takes in the information presented. Though her magic needs work. If she can get that figured out, she'll definitely make it in. I also feel different around her, like I'm enjoying myself more. How often do I get to continually tease someone who's reactions are priceless? At least, that's what I make myself believe. What is wrong with me lately…? I shake my head and return my focus back to my work.

((Interruption from author here-Okay, guys, I'm sorry for not being more specific about what kind of work Klaus does, but I honestly don't have a clue what it would be! Sorry…but if you guys have any suggestions as to what kinds of work he might have, I'd love the help.-interruption over))

After I finish my work as prefect, I turn my attention to Selene's training. I look up after cleaning up my desk and see her sitting cross-legged on the little couch, hunched over her homework. She's really taking this seriously. Good.

"Ready?" She looks up, nearly making me jump. "Just give me minute and I can end…" A few minutes later she puts it into her strange bag and gets up, "Sorry, I wanted to finish that worksheet. I'm good to go now." She stretches her arms into the sky and then lowers them, pushing on her lower back and she leans backward. A series of quiet pops sounds and she sighs happily, "That felt good. I hate hunching over for so long. Okay, let's get on with this. Are we going to the courtyard today?"

I nod and we begin to head to the courtyard.

Selene's POV

Training today wasn't as difficult. I managed to hold the lil' tornado in place for nearly six minutes before it spiraled out control. I threw my hands up into the sky, "Progress!" and fell backwards onto the grass, my cloak spreading around me, my side braid flopping out. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the smell of the fresh-cut grass.

"What are you doing?" Klaus sighed, "Get up."

"A break…please." I mumbled.

"Fine. We'll start again in ten minutes."

Yay…I'm sleepy…ten minutes…is enough…for a…quick…nap…right…?

Klaus's POV

She's eagle spread on the grass, and if she wasn't wearing shorts underneath her skirt (which she isn't supposed to do), she be flashing her underwear. I shake my head. Ignorant child. I sigh and decide to walk around the courtyard and stretch my legs. She's doing pretty well and progressing nicely. I make sure to update the training log I've been keeping, and when I come back to where she's lying on the grass, she's curled up. Did she fall asleep?

"Hey, break's over. Get up." I walk over next to her when she doesn't respond. "Hey." I crouch down beside her and shake her shoulder. I think she really did fall asleep.

"G'way Mer…'m tir'…" She moans and curls up tighter. "Mer" must be her brother, Merlin. I shake my head and sit down next to her. She's worked hard-I'll let her have this break. I glance at her-she's mumbling about something. I lean closer to hear-if it's her, it's bound to be strange and interesting.

* * *

Authoress: Man...I'm exhausted. When's the last time I got a full night's sleep...?

Selene: Before your school started. Be glad that you don't have to get as little sleep as I do...oh, wait...that characteristic of mine was based off of you, wasn't it?

Authoress: Yup. Insomnia sucks, readers, it is truly awful.

Selene: Don't I know it. Heck, I fell asleep in this chapter.

Authoress: I didn't even put that in the script, you just did that on your own. It's not fair that you can take naps!

Yukiya:...

Authoress: (notices Yukiya and yelps) Yukiya! Where in heck did you come from?!

Yukiya:...I was sleeping under that tree over there. You guys woke me up.

Authoress: (sweatdrops) Get over it. Be glad you get sleep. (sighs) Sorry. That was rude. This lack of sleep is starting to take its toll.

Yukiya:...

Yukiya:...

Selene: I think he's already asleep again...

Klaus: Why is it that you think that you can sleep, oh buddy of mine, right in the middle of training?

Selene: (her turn to yelp) Klaus! Where in heck did you come from?

Klaus: I'm magic. Now answer my question.

The two being bickering like they always do between chapters. Authoress sighs.

Authoress: I'm so tired of this...and everthing else. I think I'm going to go join Yukiya in nap land. SO IF YOU TWO DON'T TAKE THIS SOMEWHERE ELSE YOU WILL BOTH BE BANANA SLUGS IN THE DREAM NEXT CHAPTER.

Klaus and Selene: What...?

Authoress: Goodnight!


	17. Chapter 15

Okay, so I recently looked up the photo for Klaus from the Trick or Treat spin-off. Holy cow. Klaus is perhaps most definitely the sexiest vampire I have _ever_ seen. And he doesn't need sparkles (well, I don't really think any vampire does but still…). I was fangirling for nearly twenty minutes! I love it! And Randy, I must say, also makes a pretty cute devil-and why can't my little brothers be as cute as Elias and Yukiya? It's not fair! But Klaus...I love that picture…*sigh*

I'm kind of disappointed that no one has taken the poll, I hoped that at least one or two would help me with that. Let remind you: Should I bring Randy into this story? Please vote!

Okay, just to let you guys know, this entire chapter is Selene's dream. Well, at the end it'll revert back into reality, but I'll make it clear when that happens.

And I tried to match each character to the appropriate animal-think of them as almost a spirit animal type thing.

* * *

Chapter 15

"Mmm…" Did I seriously fall asleep? I guess I did, because I'm waking up. Except, when I try to rub my eyes and sit up, I can't move normally. What the heck…? I open my eyes to find that I don't know where I am. I look down and see…huh? Am I a…a…dog? That's strange. Did I make a spell go awry? It wouldn't be the first time…

I stand up on four wobbling legs. The location? A forest. How I got here? Unknown. I decide to walk around and see if I can find a person to help me. I was just training with Klaus, so he should be here somewhere. I sigh, surprised that it sounded like a human's. "Wait…I can talk?" Well that should make things easier. And, I've noticed that I can see in color instead of black and white. It's a nice perk.

"Why wouldn't you be able to?" I recognize that voice.

"Luca? Is that you?" I turn around, looking for him. "Where are you?"

"Look up."

I do so to see a lemur hanging by its tail. "What the heck? Why are you a lemur?"

"Why shouldn't I be? After all, you're a dog."

"No duh. But out of curiousity, what kind of dog am I?"

"Shouldn't you know what animal you are? I mean, you should know what you are." I could hear the tease in his voice. So typically Luca. I haven't known him for long, but I like to say I can understand people quickly.

"Just tell me. I'm not in the mood to joke around."

I could almost smell the pout (I'd say "hear", but as I'm currently a dog, smell seemed more appropriate.) and I did my best to glare. "All right." He sighed, "You're no fun. You're a German Shepard. Seriously, I can't believe you don't know what you are."

I rolled my eyes, something I _could_ do normally in this form. "So where am I?" I heard a movement in the brush behind me and whirled around. Out of the brush came a silver wolf; it looked like Yukiya's familiar-I had seen it a few times, but it always ignored me and tended to not go to class with him. I had a feeling it was bored by them.

"Wolfy?" It was what I called the wolf because Yukiya said that he didn't know the wolf's name, and never really had a need to.

It looked at me and tilted it's head, "What did you call me?" That was Yukiya's voice!

"Yukiya?! I think I've gone crazy! What next, Elias is a hawk and Klaus is a dragon?!"

He gave me a confused look, then shook his head. He clearly thought I was just acting strange. Seriously, though, what is going on.

"And why would you think that?" I spun again and saw Elias, well Elias's voice came out of a young Doberman. I _am_ crazy. "You know very well that we aren't."

"Well! We're supposed to be people! Humans! But why is everyone an animal?!" I flopped to the ground. ' _I can't have screwed up a spell that badly_!'

"Get up. What are you doing?" And there's Klaus. Wonderful. Sarcasm intended. I looked up and saw that he was a slightly older Doberman. Of course Elias and Klaus would be the same animal-they are brothers.

"I've decided this is all a dream. No spell of mine has ever gone this awry, and I know I couldn't mess one up _this_ badly." I sighed and stood up, shaking myself off, since I had no hands to brush myself off. I took a closer look at everyone. I did notice that Klaus made a very handsome dog and Elias was a pretty adorable puppy-not that I would ever tell either of them that. And Luca being a mischievous little Lemur made sense, as did Yukiya being the same as his familiar. It's like we were the spirit animal versions of ourself.

"And what, pray tell, are humans?" Klaus rolled his eyes, "Stop making up strange things. Now come on, it's time for training-we're working on your tracking today. Elias, would you like to join us?"

"No, I'm fine. I think I'm going to go practice off on my own today." Elias responded. Seriously, what's going on? I'm so utterly confused.

"Umm…sure." I follow Doberman Klaus into the woods and into a clearing. Not entirely sure what was going on, I stayed silent.

"Is something wrong? You're not your usual chatty, annoying self."

"Hey!" I cried, "Don't be a meanie!"

"How old are you? Because you're acting like a child."

"So? I'm a child until I'm an adult, so I can act as I please!" I retorted.

"You tell 'em." A new, unrecognized voice said. My ear twitched and I turned to see a large white dog laying down, head on top of front paws, on top of a little rise.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My friends call me Zave." I could swear that he was smiling. "Why don't you leave that bully and come play with me for a bit? I found the coolest little place awhile ago." The dog stood up, "If you're coming, hurry up!" and bounded off.

At this point, I wasn't able to control myself, and it was almost like I was watching from someone else's eyes. I felt an uncontrollable urge to go and play instead of work. "Sure! I'd love a break! See you later Klaus!" I started to run, and leaped up the little hill thing. I began to follow the white dog.

"Hey! Come back!" Klaus's fading voice said from a distance. I ignored him and caught up with the white dog.

"So what kind of dog are you, Zave?"

"A Kuvasz. Hey, let's have some fun. That scary doberman back there seemed to be the kind against having fun, so what do you want to do?"

I still wasn't able to control the body I was inhabiting, and it was moving and answering by itself. "Umm…how about tag? I'm in a running mood."

"Sure!" This dog seemed to be a cheerful sort. "You know, once I take a closer look at you, you're really pretty. Did you know that? You really are cute."

"Umm…not really. I know I'm not all that pretty or cute, and it's never been a priority of mine."

"But you are. You've got this natural beauty. And, you seem like an awesome dog. I like you."

At this point, I'm pretty sure that if I was in human form, I'd be blushing. "Naw…not really. I'm not all that great. I'm pretty useless, though I do what I can."

He licked my nose lightly, "Now you're lying."

My eyes snapped open.

Klaus's POV (dream is still in session (but is about to end), and this is the real world human Klaus, not the dream world dog Klaus)

She sleeps talks. And about the strangest things, too. I've hear mention of several people, as well as animals, and now she just said, "I'm not all that great." It's a quiet kind of talk, and I have to lean in a bit to hear it, but it's very clear and not mumbly.

I decide it's time to wake her up and lean over her. I put a hand on her shoulder to shake her awake when her eyes suddenly snap open and she tries to bolt into a sitting position, knocking her forehead against mine. "Ow!"

We both fall back, clutching our foreheads. To be honest, I think it hurt her more than it did me.

"You've got a hard head, shortie. And you're a heavy sleeper." I sigh.

"Sorry…" She trails off and I notice her face is red. "How long have I been asleep? It didn't seem like that long."

"Nearly half an hour. You say the strangest things in your sleep. Then, when I leaned over to wake you up, you knock your forehead on mine. You seriously have problems."

She blushed even more and look down. Was what I said too harsh…? It probably was. "Sorry. I don't normally talk in my sleep, at least as far as I know. But then again, I rarely dream. I've had a good deal of strange dreams, but that one takes the cake. All of the cake." She rubbed her eyes. "And I apologize for falling asleep during training. I don't usually fall asleep so fast, especially during the day after a decent night's sleep."

I got up and brushed myself off. I was about to offer my hand to help her up, but she was up and ready before I could. "Just don't do it again."

She nods and looks at the ground around her, "Now where is my wand…aha! There it is." She leans over like a ballerina, one foot strait in the air behind her, as she goes to pick up her wand off the ground. She does it effortlessly, but I know it would take incredible balance to do it like that, without even wobbling.

"So, what should I do next?" She looks at me wide eyes and expectant.

"I think that's enough for today, after all, I heard you did pretty well in Practical Magic today. You nearly beat the school record."

She beams proudly, "Uh-huh. I nearly beat _your_ record. Next time, I think I'll try to beat _my_ all-time record."

"You do that. You need the help with your grade in that class. You keep messing up a lot of the spells." She makes a sulky face and then sticks her tongue out at me. Back to a child again. She walked to the edge of the courtyard and grabs her bag, pulling something out of it as she walks back. It's some sort of food.

She opens the packaging and takes a bite. She looks up to see me raising an eyebrow at her, "What? I'm hungry."

I roll my eyes, "I didn't say anything."

"I could see it in your face. Oh, and I've got something to do. Could we go back to your office? And would you let me borrow your tea pot?"

"Why?"

"Because I want to make some hot coco for you. You shared your favorite drink with me, and I want to share mine with you."

"Go ahead. Knock yourself out. But you do realize that I have had hot chocolate before, correct?"

She stops and turns to face me, hands on her hips, smirk on her lips, "But you haven't had _my_ hot chocolate before."

Selene's POV

I got really focused while making the hot chocolate. I always do. It's like Klaus with his tea-perfection is mandatory. If you don't do it right, you've failed. I have to be even more careful than normal because I've never made it with a tea set. I use my magic to heat the water in the pot to the correct temperature, making sure to stir it so it heats evenly, and put a spoonful of mix into each of the two cups and pouring a certain amount of water in and mixing it, then repeated this process until both cups were full with a creamy, beautiful brown brew that beats coffee any day (I'm a hater of coffee, sorry to all those who like/love it, but I am a hot coco person through and through. Sweet over bitter any day that ends in 'y' ;). Perfect. I close the bag with the mix and leave the remaining water in the pot. "Okay. Perfect. Allllllll done!"

I handed a cup to Klaus and picked up my own cup. I waited until he took a sip. "How is it?"

Klaus's POV

She was looking at me, wide-eyed and looking like an eager puppy. It's adorable, to be honest. Not that I'm going to tell her that. I took a sip. "How is it?" she asks.

I smiled slightly, "The best I've ever had." This makes her face light up; she takes a sip from her own cup.

"Mmm…" She sank into her chair, "Just what I needed to wake me up after that nap." She relaxes, more than I've ever seen her do, as she keeps sipping her drink. She looks older than her age now, almost closer to mine. Seriously, this girl keeps switching ages and it's confusing. She acts all different ages and it makes her look like she's different ages and…it's just so disorienting. And interesting. She's different, this girl. Whether it's in a good or bad way…I haven't decided yet.

* * *

(Authoress herself is taking a nap with Taffy because she hasn't had a full night's sleep in about three or so weeks, so she'll be absent from this ender!)

Selene: I remember that dream! Of course, I understand it much better now that I did when I had it. It was also before I knew that pretty much all of my rare dreams were prophetic.

Klaus: So that's what you were dreaming about that day. I had completely forgotten about that specific time-you fell asleep several times during training, usually on the nice warm sunny days like that day was.

Selene: Can you blame me? I was always tired-I'm still always tired-and while I may be really good at hiding my exhaustion, I will occasionally fall asleep out of seemingly nowhere. At least I'm not like you, who has to be forced to take a nap because you'll burn yourself out if I don't make sure you rest. Speaking of which, go to bed, it's nearly ten o'clock and you have to get up early to help with the preparations for the cast party tomorrow.

Klaus: (raises and eyebrow and smirks as he has an idea) Fine. But only if you come with me.

Selene: Go to bed, perv. Why am I associated with someone like you, anyway?

Klaus: Because you want to be, now let's go to bed. (and he pulls her into the bed and falls asleep hugging her (she eventually gives up on trying to remove herself from her lover's iron grip and goes to sleep as well.)

Selene: *yawn* Jerk…


	18. Chapter 16

Holy canoli guys. I'm the student chairperson for my school's blood drive this Friday, October 30th. I get to dress up in my Halloween costume since it's the day before All Hallow's Eve. Guess what I decided to dress up as (the words "blood drive" should be a big hint…)! That's right! A vampire! My stepmother and I thought it would be very appropriate for the occasion. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Klaus is also a vampire for Halloween...hehe.

Hey, and since it's almost Halloween, if I can get five reviews from five different people by Friday morning, I'll post a special one-shot chapter that's Halloween themed! You can do it guys!

I had so much fun writing this chapter-I had to keep biting my lip to stop from giggling/squeeing. I love making character's like Selene have such scenes of confusion and embarrassment-it's so much fun.

* * *

Chapter 16

Klaus's POV

"You mentioned that the dream you had out there was strange. What was it about?" I ask, feeling curious.

She laughed awkwardly, "I don't suppose I can say I don't remember…? No…? Well, if you must know, you were in it." Okay, this took me aback. I'll admit that. "But so was Elias, Yukiya Reizen, and Luca Orlem. We all were animals, not human. I was a dog, a German Shepard to be precise, Luca was a Lemur, Yukiya was a silver Wolf that pretty much is the same as his familiar, and you and Elias were also dogs, albeit Rottweilers. It was really weird. I at first thought a spell went awry and I had transformed myself into a dog-don't give me that look, it has happened before-but I realized it must be a dream because I couldn't have transformed everyone into animals. Also, there was a white dog-I think the breed was Kuvasz or something-named Zave towards the end. It was all so messed up." She laughs, " _Man, I've got problems_."

"You spoke in a different language again."

She recoiled slightly, "Oh. Whoops!" She laughed and shook her head, "Sorry. I don't even realize that I've slipped back into English until someone points it out. My family is made up of people who can speak both English and Myulan, so switching between the two doesn't make a difference. Just make sure to let me know if at some point I respond in English instead of Terran."

I nod and take another sip from the cup. I've been thinking that it might be an interesting challenge to teach myself this language, and now that I know is called "English", it'll be easier to find reference materials for it. Maybe I can look in the library tomorrow, though I doubt there would be a book on it there. Perhaps I can head to town and look.

She glances at the clock on the wall. I notice that it's already six-thirty. " _Crum._ " She turns back and sets the (empty) tea cup onto its little plate, "Thanks for letting me borrow the tea set. I really need to get going-I wanted to grab a few books from the library before going to dinner." She gathers up her stuff and slings her bag over one shoulder, and goes to the door. Before she shuts it and leaves, she turns her head around, "See you tomorrow!" and leaves.

"Goodbye."

Selene's POV

I think that the two of us are almost friends at this point. At least, we're arguing less. That's a good thing, right? I hurry to the library (I'm getting better at navigating! I'm not getting lost so much-thank you so much Isa!) and pull out the list I made to find the books I need for class. One for Professor Merkulova's class on Herbs (so I could better learn the Myulan names) and two different books for Professor G's class (one on different kinds of amulets and one on how to make basic magical amulets-we had a project coming up on that). Problem is, this library was organized with something similar to the Dewey Decimal system, but with no labels and I had no idea in what the categories of organization were. " _Dang it. This is not going to be easy._ " I muttered under my breath as I began looking through the first shelf, " _This place is huge! I'm never going to find them before dinner's over!_ "

" _Would you like some help, then?_ " I whirled around to find myself facing a tall (nearly a head and a half taller than me! Why are there so many flippin' tall people at this school! Even Elias and Yukiya, who are nearly a year younger are a few inches taller! Geeze!), auburn haired, blue-eyed (it was a shade that really stood out with his hair) guy who had a joking smile, and was maybe a little younger than Klaus, so maybe around eighteen.

Then I realized something. " _You just spoke English…_ "

His smile grew wider, " _I did._ "

My eyes widened, " _Wait…are you from Terra, too?_ "

" _I did live there until I was ten-then my family moved to Myula._ " I grinned. He seemed like a nice person.

" _Awesome! I didn't think I'd meet any other Terran at this school! This is a pleasant surprise._ "

His eyes crinkled at the corners, " _It's been a long time since I've spoke English. It's nostalgic. Now, what were you looking for? I'd be glad to help-it took me nearly a year to figure this maze of a library out._ " I smiled wider and showed him my list. He laughed. " _I remember reading these-It was nearly three years ago! Let me guess-you have trouble translating the names of the herbs._ "

" _Woah! How did you know? Did you have trouble with them too?_ "

" _Tons. Now, I know exactly where all of these books are. Follow me!_ "

I did so and followed him to another part of the library-and it was clear to me that I was in the entirely _wrong_ part of the place. " _So what's your name?_ " I was happy to be able to speak english again.

" _Xavier Moonwalker. My friends call me Zave, though._ "

"Pfft…!" I started giggling and he raised an eyebrow. I quelled my laughter, " _Sorry, it's just something from a dream earlier popped into my mind. I have reason to think that I can tell the future with my dreams now!_ " I explained the basics of my dream, really just telling him that several of my friends and I were animals for some reason, and I met a white dog who said his friends called him "Zave", then it ended. No need to include that last part...

He laughed, " _That's awesome! How often does something this happen?_ "

I took a second to think. Then my eyes widened and my jaw dropped. " _Come to think of it…I don't dream that often…but the few times I do they're strange and really clear and always similar to something that happens soon after in some obscure way._ " I crossed my arms and peered to the side thoughtfully. " _Huh. How did I not connect the dots sooner? Man. I feel like a ditz!_ "

"Pfft…!" My attention turned to Zave, who was holding in laughter-or _trying_ to. Then he lost control and burst into laughter, holding his sides and leaning back onto the bookshelf. He calmed himself down and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. " _You're pretty cute, you know that, right?_ "

I jerked, my back straightening, " _Huh?_ " _Okay, this is sounding familiar._

" _And it's also cute how you don't realize it._ "

I felt a heat rising in my cheeks. What's going on? " _C-cute? That's new. Normally it's 'crazy'. Unless, of course, it's by one of my sister's after they catch me and give me a forced makeover._ " I laugh and shake my head, feeling awkward and embarrassed. This is new. And strange in a way that I don't know if it's good or bad, probably bad, though.

" _Now you must be lying._ " He smiles a crooked smile, " _That's surprising. Surely the guys fawned over you back in Terra, pretty as you are._ " He pulled a few books off of the shelves.

" _Oh…umm…not really. I was more like everyone's little sister-slash-mother._ " I'm surely red to my ears at this point.

" _All the better for me then, since they clearly don't recognize how utterly gorgeous you are._ " He handed me the three books. " _See you later, beautiful._ " He kissed my cheek and was gone before I fully registered what had happened.

I blinked. " _Holy cow…what just…happened…?_ " I whispered, raising my hand to lightly touch my cheek.

…. …. ….

I grabbed dinner and ate as fast as I could without giving myself a stomach ache and hurried off to my room, where Amelia was curled up on her bed reading a novel. Probably a romance novel, her favorite kind (I myself prefer action/adventure where the main character(s) use their wits just as much or more than their strength to win).

"Hi Amelia…" I said, still in a bit of a daze. She looked up and gave me a strange look.

Then her face turned intrested. "What happened to you…?"

"I'm still trying to figure it out myself." I responded with a sigh.

She gasped, excited all of a sudden, "Was it Klaus? What happened? Girl, give me details."

I shook my head, "No, it had nothing to do with Klaus." I set my bag down and sat cross-legged on the center of my bed, facing Amelia, who had turned to me with eager interest. I then proceeded to explain the afternoon's events-from the dream to the happenings in the library, doing my best not to leave anything out. Once it was all out, I felt far more like normal my normal self.

At the end she squealed a squeal that I could tell that she had been holding in for at least half of the story. "Oh my gosh! He _totally_ likes you and was _so_ flirting with you!" She sighed dreamily, swaying slightly, "I've heard of this Xavier Moonwalker. Apparently a lot of people like him, and he's even got his own fanclub, though he's never had a girlfriend, as far as I know. He's nearly as well known as Klaus, though in a different light, and just as handsome, though in a different way. Oh!" She gasped like she had thought of something, "What would it be like to be in a love triangle between the two? The jealous and dashing Emperor and the handsome and kind Popular…oh!" She looked like she was swooning, something I had only seen on rare occasions from my sisters and had never experienced. Or had any desire to experience.

I laughed, "I really hate to burst your bubble, Amelia, but that's never going to happen. To His Rudeness, I'm just an annoyance he barely puts up with to make sure _his_ grades don't faulter, and I just met Zave. Plus, I'm not really the kind of girl guys fight over. Most either argue non stop with me or consider me like a little sister, a friend who's practically another one of the guys, or sometimes like a motherly figure. Besides, what would a guy find attractive in me? I'm not inherently pretty and am not a girly girl, 'cause let me tell you…I am not a fan of that kind of stuff. At all."

"That's not true! Tons of girls would kill for a figure and features like yours! Plus, your eyes are nearly silver, which is very rare to see, and it goes well with your hair-it's said that most guys prefer blondes, though how true that it I don't know."

I gave her a look that said " _really? are you kidding me?_ "

"I'm serious! And maybe your disbelief that it's true is attractive to Xavier! You never know…" She smiled slyly. She fell back on her bed, arms flung out, "I want a boyfriend so badly…" She groaned.

It was my turn to smile in a sly manner, "You know…I think you'd be a good fit for Yukiya."

"Reizen?" This caught her attention, "You do know that it's rumored that he's cursed, and that's why people avoid him, right?"

This surprised me, "Okay, for one, curses are _not_ contagious, so even if he is cursed, it wouldn't make a difference. I have accidentally cursed myself tons of times, and the only effect it's ever had on other people is to have them laugh at my blunder. Two, he's a really sweet guy, albeit-I love that word,albeit-being a quiet and dreamy. You would balance that out with your love of talking. I really think your personalities would go well together."

She looked thoughtful, "Huh…"

"Think about it. Plus, I can so set the two of you up. He likes cookies." She giggled. "Well, I think I'm going to go take a quick shower before finishing my homework and practicing." I stood up and gathered my shower stuff and pajamas.

…. …. ….

Later, as I lay in bed, I can't stop thinking about the things Amelia said. I feel for a moment that her "love-triangle" prediction is a prophecy of some sort-then I laugh at myself and brush it off. _As if something like that would_ ever _happen. Especially with Klaus._ I giggle a bit, although quietly, as not to wake my roommate from her slumber.

* * *

Squeee! Foreshadowing foreshadowing! Oh! What fun!

Okay. I'm done now. But I know what's going to happen for the next, say, six or so chapters. And it's going to get good!

And seriously guys, what do you think about a Amelia/Yukiya relationship? I'd kinda think it'd be fun. What would their couple name be…Yulia? Okay, I may be getting ahead of myself. But tell me what you guys think! Perhaps I can pair her up with Luca, as well, though. They both like to gossip, and they'd be a fun pairing. Vote on my poll!

* * *

Authoress: Um...Selene…? Klaus…? It's...uh...time to wake up…

Selene: *opens her eyes slowly* It's his fault. I blame him. It's all his fault.

Klaus: *snuggles closer to Selene*

Authoress: Why does this remind me of a python squeezing its prey…

Selene: Because I. CANNOT. MOVE! KLAUS, GET YOUR BUTT UP OR I'LL SINGE YOUR EYEBROWS OFF AGAIN!

Klaus: *groans and hugs her tighter* Be quiet...I'm tired...and not ready...to get up...yet…

Authoress: I feel for you, Selene, truly, I do. Try this: HEY KLAUS, GET UP AND SELENE WILL MAKE YOU BREAKFAST!

Klaus: Fine…! *he releases Selene, who darts aways and stretches*

Selene: Man, I'm so sore! I really _wasn't_ able to move.

Authoress: Okay, you two, let's get this over with-what was your reaction to this chapter?

Klaus: *pulls the blanket over his head* Do not speak of that man. I swear you will feel pain if you do.

Selene: What man? Zave? You know he _is_ still a good friend of mine, right? Jealous that I get along better with your rival than with you half the time…? *starts speaking in a teasing babying voice* Aww...how adorable Klausy can be! Who's a big boy? Klausy is~! *starts giggling with Authoress*

Klaus: *one eye peers out from beneath the blanket in a way that can be likened to Kyoya-senpai from Host Club* Grr…

Selene: Time to leave! *grabs Authoress's hand and starts running*

Klaus: SELENE...!

Authoress: (in her thoughts) _This won't end well... Eh, what else is new?_


	19. Special Halloween Spin-Off!

Okay, even though I only got one review, I'm still posting this. Only because I didn't want to wait another year to post this. I won't be posting another chapter until I have a total of fifteen reviews-and you can't have reviewed on the last two chapters! Sorry, but I am on strike! Plus, I'm counting this as the next week's chapter anyway, because it is eight pages in Google Drive, and normally my chapters are only five pages...

And to the guest who commented on chapter three, I have an explanation! Thank you for mentioning age-I realized that I accidentally wrote that Selene was fifteen in the prologue and chapter three and then she was nearly seventeen in chapter ten! That's fixed now…Selene is nearly seventeen in all chapters mentioning her age. And I know that making Elias fourteen might seem a little young, but you have to remember that Klaus is five years older than Elias. Klaus is nineteen, and Elias is almost fifteen. It would seem really strange that a twenty year old is going to high school still, so I have it set up to where he's in his final year of school. Also, Merlin and Selene are less than a year apart in age, Merlin being older. I hope this makes sense! (Though in this spin-off, Eli is fifteen! But only because this spin off takes place in the distant future!)

And after posting this, I'm on my way to my friend's family's annual Halloween Party! Sadly, even though I am going as a vampire (I ran the Key Club blood drive yesterday-it went very well!), I do not have a hottie named Klaus to be my plus-one. At least, not physically...a girl can hope and dream, can't she?

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Backround: This takes place at some unknown time in the fanfic, but is after a long time, and Selene is dating Klaus. Selene _loves Halloween, as it is literally her second favorite holiday (after April Fools' day, where she can prank as many people as she likes without getting in trouble). The headmaster announced that because it was in the spirit of the holiday (and because it was a Saturday), costumes were allowed to be worn around campus the entire week of Halloween. Selene was super excited and wouldn't tell_ _anyone_ what her costume was going to be for the actual day of, and she had a clever new costume each day for the school week leading up it, as All Hallows Eve was on a Saturday. {{Note, all six of the boys from Wizardess are the same thing they were in the recent spin-off for this holiday. To see the costumes, look up the pictures, I recommend nerdmemoir-also, Zave is a pirate and Amelia is the Myulan version of Bloody Mary (who knows why but she wanted to be Bloody Mary...)}} There will be snippets from each day of the best reaction to Selene's costumes, along with a special ending on the night of Halloween! Enjoy...mwahahaha! Also, this will be in third person.

Monday: Ceiling Fan

This was an easy costume. But it was also a fun one. All you had to do was put some tape on a shirt and carry around pom-poms. Selene walked into her first class to see Luca bothering Elias, and Yukiya sitting in his desk staring out the window, as per usual. Luca was the first to notice.

"Pfft…" He tried to stop himself from laughing, "And just what are you supposed to be…?"

"A Ceiling Fan." Selene grinned goofily, raising her pom poms, "Go Ceiling Go! Whoohoo!" she shook her pom poms and did a little cheerleader like dance. "I am the ceiling's #1 fan!"

Luca stopped trying to contain his laughter, and started laughing so hard he began to cry. Elias was hiding his snickers behind his hand, and even Yukiya had one of those smiles where your lips are pursed together as a way to prevent from outright laughter.

"Only you, Selene, only you." Luca sighed, trying to quell his giggles.

Tuesday: Breadwinner

This time, it took three things-dressing up like a mother who was in the kitchen baking, a medal, and a loaf of bread.

Zave stood outside the girls dorm waiting for Selene-he'd promised to help her test her latest burn-proofing charm (she was always trying to come up with better fire-proof charms to help people). When she walked out, outfit covered in flour and holding a loaf of stale bread, wearing a metal, Zave just raised an eyebrow, "What is it today?"

"A breadwinner." She replied instantly. "Tomorrow's is more fun."

Wednesday-only two things needed for this one.

Zave laughed, "Let me guess, a dust bunny?"

She smiled, "How'd you guess? Was it the ears or the duster?"

Thursday-Ginger Bread Woman

Randy cocked his head as he looked at Selene in confusion. She was wearing a red (really, redheads are actually orange heads…) wig and had bread slices hanging from a string around her neck. From the biggest bread peice in the center hung a sign that said "Woman". Randy gasped, "I get it! You're a gingerbread woman! That's really clever! What are you going to be on Saturday?" He had been pestering her about it since the previous Sunday, and had been trying to get her to spill.

Selene laughed, "But telling you now would make it less of a surprise, and I can't trust that Klaus won't get you to tell him. He's been just as annoying about it, though far less obvious. I refuse to tell. Everyone will just have to figure it out!"

He pouted, "Aww…" Something hit his face and fell to the ground. He picked it up and saw it was a small candybar.

"Stop pouting, Tamaki. The pout doesn't work on me."

Friday-Identity Thief

All you have to do is stick a bunch of filled out name tags to your shirt and you are good to go!

Amelia looked at her roommate. Then she laughed, "You've worn the cleverest costumes this week. You really love this holiday, don't you?"

"Too much. I can't wait for tomorrow though, my costume will be so amazing that no one will be able to tell it's me! I can't even tell one person-well, there is one person I've informed, but that person had to help me with the costume, and this person won't tell because if they do, they will regret it."

"You won't even tell me if this person is a boy or girl, will you?" She shook her head, but she was smiling, "You'll tell me at some point if I can't manage to figure it out, won't you? By the Halloween party, at least, right?"

Selene grinned like a striped purple cat, "Alright then, I'll tell you by the party."

"You sound so confident that I won't figure it out." Amelia raised an eyebrow, one side of her mouth curling upward."

"Only because I'm so confident in my costume. The only thing left to get is something Blayze will be dropping off soon, and it's a small but crucial detail. They're something that aren't found in Myula, a Terran thing. Plus, I'm barely a B cup, so it won't be that hard to hide." Selene made sure that her phone alarm was set to get her up extra early. If this was going to work, she couldn't be seen until she was far away from the dorms.

Saturday-Halloween

Elias was sitting in a courtyard, in full uniform. As usual, he appeared to be studying. But it was far too early to be out and about. In reality, he was just waiting for the time when students would be around campus, socializing and mingling. It was Halloween, after all, and there were no classes today. And until tonight, when the school Halloween dinner then party was, the students were free to do as they wished.

Then, the real Elias Goldstein, dressed in an egyptian pharaoh-mummy costume (Selene made him dress up), took a double take when he saw himself sitting on a bench reading a book. He walked up to the doppleganger and looked at himself, raising an eyebrow. The one reading looked up at him, "Oh hi Elias," said a feminine voice.

"It's creepy to hear your voice coming from my mouth, Selene." Elias looked awkward, "Remind me again why you decided to dress up as me for Halloween, again? And how did you get it this accurate."

She smiled, looking like Selene for a second before she composed herself, the classic serious face of Elias reappearing. "To be perfectly honest, I just want to mess with Klaus, well, for the most part. I'll give you a list: One, I wanted to mess with my buddy, your brother. Two, I wanted to see if I could pull something like this off-seriously, I've been thinking of coming to school one day dressed as a guy, just to see if people could figure it out. Three, one of my sisters likes to experiment with combining cosmetics and magic, along with using magic to make the person look exactly like another person. She's got it developed to the point where if I can act almost exactly like the person, I'll keep looking like the person. My voice doesn't count. She hasn't found a way to make that a part of it yet, but I'm good enough at vocal manipulation to be able to sound exactly like you."-She then switched her voice from her own to a sound-alike of Elias'.-"I'm also wearing a wig and colored contacts. Normally, Klaus would be able to sense the magic in the wig, which it's what makes my face the way it is, but since I convinced you to lend me one of your uniforms, it's infused with enough of your essence to cover that up, since it's faint. That's really the reason it had to be one of _your_ uniforms, not just a random male uniform. Plus, we're the same height!"

"You've really thought this out, haven't you. Well, as long as you don't do anything weird, I won't tell anybody it's you." Elias was used to the strangeness of this particular friend.

"Well, I do have one hitch in my plans. My wand. Klaus will be able to tell it's mine from my energy radiating from it." Selene pulled out her unique wand, completely silver in color, with constantly shifting golden veins visible. "I came up with a solution though. Do you have your wand?"

"If you're asking to trade wands, then the answer will be no. You can't use normal wands, and your wand can't be used by anyone else." Elias deadpanned.

Selene shook her head, "No, I wasn't going to suggest that. I just need you to cast a temporary camouflage spell to make it appear to be your wand. Therefore, as long as I'm not in the position where I have to use water or ice magic, I'll be golden."

Elias shook his head, "How much time where you should have been studying did you waste on thinking this through?"

"I'm only you in image Elias, I don't need to be top of the class-I'm not becoming that authentic for only a day." She chuckled, sounding scarily like the person she appeared to be.

"I think I'm going to go now. One, because people can't see us together otherwise all your wasted time will be even more wasted. Two, because this whole thing is creeping me out. Good luck, Selene." ' _You'll need it.'_ He thought, leaving the courtyard, ' _Then again, Selene seems to be made of luck. Good or bad, which will appear today?_ '

…. …. …. -Almost Dinner.

No one had figured out that there were two different Elias'. There were a few people who had noticed that they'd see Elias in uniform one minutes, and then a few minutes later they'd see Elias in a costume. The only one who was remotely suspicious was, in fact, Prefect Goldstein.

He had been trying to find his buddy all day, and now Klaus was at a loss. Whenever he would faintly sense her magic, it was almost like a residue, very weak, like he had just missed her. But something even stranger kept happening. Whenever he felt the residue, Elias had been there in his uniform. Yet he also kept seeing Elias in the costume Selene had gotten for him, yet without the magic residue. He was suspicious, and both uniformed Elias and the residue were there. He approached his brother.

"Hello Elias. Do you know where I might find that buddy of mine?"

Elias jumped, not having heard him come up. This was normal, Elias often got very absorbed in whatever he was reading, and it looks like Selene had lent him another Terran novel. Elias had been reading those often since Selene had started teaching him English.

"Oh, brother. No, I haven't seen her all day."-He shrugged slightly.-"I've been curious to see what her costume was though. She seemed very excited about it. She promised that if no one figured it out, she'd reveal herself by dinner. Therefore, I've kept an eye out-haven't seen her though."

"Oh," Klaus said, "here's a question about you then. How come you've been changing from your costume to your uniform and back all day? It isn't like you to be so fickle, brother." Elias grew visibly nervous, and was nearly squirming in his seat.

"Alright!" He blurted, "I have seen Selene several times. She keeps making me change into that costume, but it makes me feel uncomfortable, so I keep changing back to my uniform! I won't tell you what she's dressed up as though, because she's sworn me to secrecy! Who _knows_ what she'll do if I break my word!"

That actually made a lot of sense to Klaus. If Elias kept running into Selene, who was making him keep changing back into his costume, it's possible that she was using magic with her costume, and so it was rubbing off on his brother. But if that was the case, why did he sense her magic when Elias was in his uniform instead of his costume? That part made no sense.

"Well, I must be off. I promised to help Yukiya with something." That was clearly an excuse. As Elias tried to scurry off, Klaus grabbed his arm, making him jump.

"Let me know the next time you see her. I have something to tell her."

Elias bit his lip, something unusual for him. "Why don't I just take a message? She said that I wasn't even allowed to tell people that I had seen her, so I've already risked a lot. I think she'll understand as long as I don't tell you anything more."

"Fine then." Klaus stated, "Tell her I need to _talk_ to her about something. She's in trouble, but you won't tell her that bit, will you, dear brother?"

Elias looked nervous, "What did she do, though?"

"Oh," he responded simple, "She knows very well what she did wrong."

Elias hurried off. Klaus noticed something on the bench. Elias had left his book-something very, very unlike him. Even more, the title was _Between The Lines_ by Jodi Picoult. Hadn't Selene been reading that the day before? Something clicked. The lightbulb flickered.*

…. …. …. -At dinner.

So, at dinner, Selene revealed herself to several people-well, everyone but Klaus, really. He had to sit up with the headmaster and the professors, along with Randy (the other prefect). On the other side of the room. All of Selene's friends, Amelia, Yukiya, Luca, Zave, Isa, and Alex all loved it (in their own way, as Yukiya just smiled and quietly said it was well-done) and complimented her on it. Elias just turned a bit red and didn't say all that much. Until he started bickering with Luca, as per usual. Selene was just downright pleased with herself. During dinner she used her real voice, but kept to the expressions Elias often used, so her costume would stay in place. Elias kept on whisper-yelling at her to stop, as hearing her voice coming from him just was plain weird and strange. She kept doing her normal voice just to tease him.

…. …. …. -Near the end of the Party!

The vampiric Klaus stood there looking at his brother. Both of his brother. There were two Eliases. The one in uniform had dragged the one in costume over. "I'm having fun with this, but I guess it's time to tell you. I can't believe you didn't figure it out, Klaus!" The uniformed one smirked and spoke in Selene's voice.

"Can I go now?" The real Elias deadpanned, "And just to let you know, brother, this was all her. I only said that if she didn't do anything weird, I wouldn't expose her."

"Yea, yea, run away, wimpy Eli. Big sis Selene can handle this." She ruffled his hair and waved him off before turning back to Klaus. "The costume is pretty awesome, isn't it? My sister helped me, and it turned out really well." She then explained everything she had explained about her costume to Elias that morning. Klaus just stared at her, face void of emotion as she jabbered happily away.

' _This is weird. She looks exactly like Elias yet sounds like herself. I don't like hearing her voice come out of my brother's mouth. I'm going to fix this._ ' Was the thought running through Klaus' head.

"And I like your costume as well. It's pretty authentic, at least traditional vampire. I mean, I've met modern ones, and most are quite like us. Are your teeth enchanted to look like that? Is it a cover spell, or a transformation?"

"How are you going to undo this magic that caused you to look like this?" Klaus asked.

"Oh, that's easy," she laughed, " I just have to take off the wig."

Klaus grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the room. She asked what in heck he was doing, but he didn't answer her. He pulled her all the way to his office on the other side of the school, going inside and locking the door. By the moonlight coming in through the window, he flicked his wand and the wig she wore blew off her head, dispersing the magic and revealing her hair, pinned up neatly with at least a hundred bobby pins. Another flick of the wand and they all clattered to the floor, her hair falling down to her shoulders.

"Hey!" she cried, "Do you realize just how long it took me this morning to get all of those in! And I won't be able to get back in costume without the wig!" Klaus merely flicked his wand again and Elias' uniform was replaced with a shimmering black gown (the uniform itself was now back in Elias' room on his bed, clean), her hair curled into big, wavy curls, dark glittery makeup appeared around her eyes, and her shoes became black flats (he would of prefered heels, as she was so short compared to him, but he'd rather not deal with the complaining). Small, glittery red gems appeared on her ears, and a matching pendant now hung upon her neck, resting on the indent at the base of her neck.

"There. You have a new costume." She looked down at herself and then looked back at him, eyebrow raised.

"And what am I supposed to be?"

"The vampire's victim." He moved closer her her, wicked grin on his face as she backed up, soon hitting the edge of his desk. He put his hands on the desk, one on either side of her hips.

"Umm...do you...need something? Or are you just being a creep and trying to make me uncomfortable?" Selene said warily, face slowly turning a deep blood-crimson at her lover's proximity.

"You're my victim. As I'm a vampire, you should know exactly what I want…" His deep voice whispered in her ear, breath warm, causing her to shivered slightly.

"Y-yup. Just b-being cr-creepy."

Klaus silenced her by taking her lips. One of his hands moved to tangle itself in her hair, the other arm wrapping around her waist.

He only released her when she began trembling from lack of air. He moved downward, making her gasp and squirm slightly in embarrassment. "K-Klaus!" she yelped as he bit down. "Ow!"

He moved his lips up to her ear again, "There," he whispered, nibbling on the edge of her ear, "your costume is complete."

Let's just say that the fang marks on her neck that everyone thought was makeup at the party didn't, well, disappear for a few days.

* * *

*Host Club Reference! (Sorry Host Club keeps getting mentioned, but it's a favorite rom-com anime of mine.)

* * *

Selene: I still can't believe you did that.

Klaus: That's what you get for doing what you did.

Selene: It hurt! Bully!

Klaus: You love me anyway.

Selene: Don't use my own words against me! I'm not a _sadist_!

Klaus: (smirking) I don't believe that's an English word I know. (moves into Selene's personal space) Mind explaining it for me?

Authoress: Get a room you two. We're all right here.

Selene: (notices that everyone is now in the room and shrieks at Klaus to move away)

Klaus: (throws her over his shoulder (he does that far to much...)) Alright then.

Authoress: No! You put her down! No more sexual harassment in the enders!

Klaus: And who will enforce this, oh powerless Authoress?

Mr. Goldstein (the father): I will. You and I need to have a talk young man. You know I feel about you being with that girl. I won't force you to break up, but you must keep things like...that to somewhere that there aren't people reading this. Now listen to your father.

Klaus: (sighs and put her down, and she runs to hide behind his father)

Selene: Thank you so much! I hate it that he constantly does these things, especially in front of people!

Mr. Goldstein: Then why are you still with him?

Authoress: Another thing to save for somewhere other than the ender! Bye readers!


	20. Chapter 17

Aaah! I forgot to post this yesterday! I'm so sorry! I've failed you guys! *sob!* I promise to do better!

Okay, I think I'm going to do this at the start of every day. It's Friday, day 5 of Selene's trial.

I got so many more reviews than I asked for! Thank you guys so much! I'm so sorry for being late! This is the first time, though, so am I forgiven?

Guess what I realized-the country this takes place in is technically Geodelune, and I've been writing it as Geolune this entire time. I went back and decided to read some of what I've previously written, and noticed that. Oops. I think I'm going to just leave it as Geolune in this story...merely because I'm far too lazy to go back and find all of the mistakes and then fix them then repost them. But I have acknowledged my mistake, just you let y'all know.

To the guess who suggested bringing Randy in and having him become friends with Selene, therefore making Klaus jealous and having him realize his feelings for her...are you clairvoyant or is it just really obvious I planned to put a bit of a love triangle as my first arc? Of course, it won't be with Randy. He doesn't come along for several more arcs, and I've got something very special planned for him. ;)

To all the others who've been waiting for more...here it is!

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Chapter 17

At breakfast the next morning (after making cherry muffins-a personal creation of yours truly-and even had some extras to eat later) I found myself in a interesting situation. Isa had slid into the seat next to me as I was finishing up with quite the amused look on her face.

"So…I heard from Alex yesterday that a certain friend of his met a certain girl in the library yesterday. And apparently this certain friend quite liked this certain girl. Any idea of who these certain people might be…?" She said coyly.

"Alex is friends with Zave?" I asked.

She smiled, "Oh yes. One of his best friends, in fact."

"And what do you mean by 'quite liked'?"

"Exactly as it sounds." She replied, "He so has a crush on you."

"Umm…we just met yesterday and barely know each other." I felt…flustered? Was that what that emotion was?

"Still, you should've seen the way he talked about you-I haven't seen Zave that excited in a long time. I'm so totally shipping you two. You'd be _perfect_ for each other!"

I laughed awkwardly, "Umm…you do know that I'm not the kind of girl guys date, right?"

She smiled playfully, "He surely doesn't think so." She giggled.

I popped the last bite of my sausage into my mouth and stood up to go put my tray away. Isa got up as well and walked with me. Once I put my tray away, I reached behind me and pulled a good-sized muffin in it's own little wrapper out of my bag and handed it to her-I had left Amelia's on top of her bag, as she wasn't up yet-before making my way to the front door of the dorm, chatting about random things with Isa, mainly about how classes were treating me.

Waiting for us though, were two guys who immediately waved at us as soon as they spotted us, and Isa waved back. I recognized one of them as Zave and waved as well-the other one was a guy with dark brown hair and eyes to match, as well as an upturned nose that gave him a mischievous look. They walked towards us to meet up with us sooner.

"Hey Alex, Zave. Selene, this is Alex." Alex wrapped an arm around Isa's waist and kissed her forehead. He was only a few inches shorter than Zave.

"Hello, oh pearl of my eye." He said to her. He looked at me, "And hello Miss Selene, pearl of the eye of Xavier." I raised a questioning eyebrow.

Isa rolled her eyes, but was smiling, "You can ignore this goof-he's been poetically frilly with his speech lately."

"If by lately you mean for the past year." Zave laughed, his face tinged with red, "Good morning, Selene, it's nice to meet you again." He smiled brightly.

I smiled in return, " _Tis nice to meet thee again, friend._ "

His smile grew wider, " _Don't tell me you're a fan of old english, too?_ "

"See, what did I tell you, my lovely Isa-a perfect fit. They get along smashingly." Alex gestured dramatically towards Zave and I. Zave turned slightly red and punched him in the arm, making Isa giggle.

"Well, we'll be off now. We've got something to take care of. Zave, be a dear and take care of Selene." Isa said, sounding like she was up to something. "Bye-bye." She and Alex strode off.

"Is it just me, or do those two seem suspicious?"

" _I agree._ " He shook his head. " _Really, those two. Hey, would you like to take a walk? We have nearly forty minutes until class starts._ "

"Sure." We began walking, to where I knew naught.

" _What, no more english?_ " He teased.

I shook my head, laughing softly, "I really don't want to start slipping into it during class-Elias would scold me again. And most likely Klaus would, too, if he heard about it. It's better to have been speaking this tongue all along."

"Are you talking about the Goldstein brothers?" He had switched back into Myulan.

"Yup. Elias is a classmate and friend and Klaus is my buddy."

He stopped walking and when I turned to look his hand was over his mouth and his face was red-clearly trying not to laugh, "S-so that was you in the courtyard earlier this week, cursing fate in old english?"

I shrugged, palms up, "Guilty. I kind of wanted to cry, but I'm not really a crier, so I just screamed at the sky." I smiled sheepishly.

He burst out laughing, "It was freakin' awesome!" He laughed for a little bit before calming himself down, "I do feel kind of bad for you though, it doesn't seem like it would be easy being the buddy of the Emperor." We started walking again.

"It's not, but it isn't so bad. If anything, it's beneficial for me, because it means he helps me with my studies so his don't drop. It's actually helping a good deal. He's not a half-bad teacher."

"I bet I could do better."

I laugh at his expression, because I still find it funny how boys feel the need to make everything a competition-take Elias and Luca from the umbra attack session, for example.

Klaus's POV

I'm making my rounds and I turn a corner, near the edge of the school, by one of the open courtyards. I see a few of the younger students practicing magic and nod approvingly. Then I see Selene enter from the other side, walking with someone. She seems to be quick at making friends with the older students, because this one is only a year younger than I. I recognize him as Xavier Moonwalker, one of the top students in his level, overall a good student who doesn't cause trouble. At least Selene isn't associating with troublemakers.

She's laughing at something he said, her nose and eyes crinkling slightly with her smile.

"I'm serious," he insists, "I could. Plus, I understand the trouble with the language switching-and I'm pretty sure I could make it more fun."

She clearly rolled her eyes, but her smile showed that it wasn't serious, "It's studying, it's supposed to be serious, _goofball_."

"Doesn't mean it can't be fun." I'm not sure why, but this conversation is making me feel more grumpy than I already am-it's still early in the morning.

She spots me, and waves me over, still smiling, "Oh! Hey! Klaus!" They walk over and meet me in the middle of the open-air hallway I'd been slowly walking on my patrol. As they reach me, I stop.

"Morning, Klaus!" She says brightly.

"Good morning. Now what do you need?" I say gruffly.

She laughs slightly, "I forgot you don't like mornings. Oh!" She pulls one arm out of it's bag strap and slings it around, opening a small pocket-the one that I've noticed she's always pulling her snacks from, the one that seems impossibly small for how much she has in it. She pulled out a large muffin in a little plastic bag. It had a red tinge to it; she holds it out, "Here. It's a cherry muffin." A cherry muffin? That's new. "It's my own personal recipe."

I raised a suspicious eyebrow then accept the baked good, "Well, since it's you, I'm sure it's safer than your magic."

"Hey!" She makes this little pout/offended face, "Don't make me singe your eyebrows off! It wouldn't be the first time I've done it to someone!" Then her smile returned, though not as large as it had been. "Well, I'll see you after school."

"Good bye." I nod before continuing on my rounds and I hear Moonwalker whisper something.

"This is why you should let _me_ tutor you. I'm not a grump in the morning."

"Zave," she laughs, "that's not very nice."

"And neither was his attitude." He says normally, "I'm completely serious though, if you ever want me to tutor you instead, just ask. This offer will stand until the end of time."

I walk around the opposite corner, out of earshot, feeling peeved. Just who did that kid think he was? I'm not sure why, but this whole thing is just making me mad, though I'm careful not to let it show in my face.

"Kyaa!" That was Selene!

I head back to see that they had fallen to the ground, her on top of him, as one of the young students that had been practicing rushed over, looking panicked. I saw a black spot on one of the little pillars behind them. Stray fireball, then. It must have been headed towards Selene when Moonwalker pulled her out of the way, and the both lost their balance. Selene rolls off of him and starts laughing hard, rolling on the ground. She seems perfectly fine-and I seeth at what just happened. I continue on my way, not mad at the student who'd fired the magic, but at the position the my buddy and _that boy_ had been in.

Selene's POV

I can't stop laughing. Fireball! "Oh, oh, I really should of been able to dodge that! Man, I'm getting slow!" I somehow manage to quell my laughter and look up at the kid who cast it. He's almost in tears, and is apologizing fervently. There's a girl the same age behind him, looking worried.

I get up and brush myself off, and held out a hand to Zave, who grabbed it and pulled himself up. I let go and turn to the kid, who's maybe twelve. I put my hands on his shoulders, "What's your name?"

"W-wilmar Otw-win." He stutters.

"Is that your buddy?" I asked-he nodded. "Well, Wilmar. There's no need to cry, or even apologize. I'd be perfectly fine even if it did hit me." I smiled gently at the boy.

"But it was a fireball!" The girl exclaimed, "And I told him not to try throwing one, because when he was about to throw it forwards, it flew backwards! Listen next time, Wil!" She scolded. Wow. I sound like that sometimes. Hahaha.

"And I'm fire-proof." I let go of the boy and looked around for my wand, which had fallen somewhere in the fray. I spotted it and picked it up, and flicked it to cause a flame to come out of the tip. I put my hand in it and the three others gasped. I smiled like I knew a secret and pulled my hand out, showing it to them, "I'm a strange one." I laughed.

" _Yes, you are. And I'm liking it._ " Zave smiled and winked at me. I snorted and turned my attention back to the kids.

"Woah…" the girl sighed. The boy just looked at me, awestruck.

I smiled brightly at them, "Now, how about you get back to your practicing? It's quite important, you know. Even us big kids have to do it-trust me, I stay up late every night because of it. Maybe I'll see you two later. Bye-bye. Now, what were we talking about, Zave?"

We started conversing as we walked away. I stopped upon hearing something after we turned the corner. "I think I'm in love…" Wilmar sighed. Then: "Ow! What was that for!" I giggled as I caught up with Zave, who was silently chuckling.

"I think someone just got a punch in the arm." I shook my head, but was smiling.

He crossed his arms and gave me a look, "And I'm starting to think that you unknowingly lied to me about how the guys weren't all over you back in Terra. I think that they were, but you didn't notice. It kind of makes me jealous."

I rolled my eyes, "Seriously? Jealous? Of what? It's not like I'm that awesome."

"You're not 'that awesome' you're 'the awesomest.'"

I rolled my eyes yet again, and reached behind me and pulled another muffin out of my bag. "Here. Now shush it." He laughed and grabbed the muffin.

* * *

Klaus: I still don't like him. *he grumps as he eats his homemade jam and half and half covered pancakes* Why is he in this story still? Can't we skip ahead to the good part?

Authoress *sighs*: No, Klaus, we've been over this. We can't skip important parts, no matter how much you don't like them. You know the story-the readers don't.

Selene: You really need to get over this. *she folds her arms on top of Klaus' head from behind and rests her chin on top of them* You've no need to worry, hun.

Klaus: Speaking of not-important parts, can we cut the second half of chapter 20 and the entirety of chapter 21?

Authoress *groans*: No Klaus. Those are key to the first major arc of the story. Deal with it. I will not cut them out, and you cannot make me. I may not have much power over you guys between scenes, but I have complete control of the chapters themselves. And the journalist in me needs to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Get over it.


	21. Chapter 18

I'M OVER 2,500 VIEWS! You guys are the best! And I'm over 20 reviews! Seeing this made my day because honours chemistry sucks!

And I'm SO sorry for posting late I spent all of last night studying for my Chem test that I had this morning! But I'm posting now so I hope you all will forgive me!

And yes, the love triangle arc has begun! After that will be the ********** arc followed by the two different ****** arcs followed by Randy then Azusa! At least, with what I have planned at this point! (Sorry but if I put the actual words there, it will spoil them a bit, and I'd hate to do that!)

* * *

Chapter 18

Zave dropped me off, with another kiss on the cheek, at my class a few minutes before the first bell. He had offered to show me around the town that was near the school tomorrow, which was, I could hardly believe, was already Saturday. I had accepted, ready for a break from school. Seriously, it was a lot more work than the scattered education I had gotten at home-which, for the past few years, was more self-study than anything. I skipped into the classroom and sat on the edge of Elias's desk.

"Wh-what the? H-hey!" He was reading, of course, and now was turning red.

"Hello! Good morning, Eli!"

"G-good morning." He looked at me funny, "You seem unusually perky."

"Mmhmm. I'm in a great mood!" I giggled as I threw my arms out dramatically, nearly whacking poor Eli in the face. I giggled again, "Sorry. I haven't been getting enough sleep lately and I guess it's starting to get to me-I'm a tad bit loopy and giggly."

"I can…see that." He seemed uncomfortable at how close I was to him, so I got up after mussing his hair (his reactions were always funny) and hopped over to my own desk, which was right behind his. Yukiya was yet again staring out the window. I put my bag on my lap and pulled out three muffins-Luca had just walked in the door.

"Yo! Luca, catch!" I threw a muffin and it was caught by a surprised Luca, who grinned as he saw what it was. "It's a cherry muffin! Enjoy!" He walked over.

"You seem hyper today. Does it have anything to with the upperclassman who escorted you to class?" He pressed a hand to his chest, "How it pains me that my love wasn't enough for you! How you needed the love of another!"

I leaned over and flicked his forehead, "It has nothing to do with Zave, Luke. I'm just in a good mood and the lack of sleep is making me giddy. _Though it might have a little to do with him dropping me off._ "

He looked at me, confused, "What?"

"If you don't know then never mind." I quoted one of my favorite anime rom-coms. Gotta love the red-headed twins!

He shook his head, smiling, "You're an interesting little vixen, all right."

"Go sit in your seat." Meaning the one right next to mine. Lucky me… "Eli, here's yours." I set his on top of his it slid into his lap, as he had gone back to reading. I turned the other way and held out one to Yukiya, "Want one, 'Kiya?" This got his attention-he likes the food I make.

"Sure." I handed it to him, then looked at his face

I gasped, happy, "What was that? A small smile! I'm so lucky! Yukiya smiled!" He blushed slightly and looked away. Luca laughed at it all, making me stick out my tongue at him like a child.

…. …. ….

After Professor Merkulova's class, we headed to Professor Schuyler's class. It had turned out that Klaus was, in fact, subbing. Basically, we were told that the lesson was to work on magical stamina and control-which meant mini tornados at the end of the wand. I actually did fairly well-managing to keep it for nearly ten minutes this time. Practice makes permanent, folks! Klaus, though, didn't say a single word to me. I guess that means I was doing well, since I wasn't getting scolded, right? But the fact that he was kind of just ignoring me…

Anyway, I did okay in history, because I was starting to catch up and make connections between event, times, places, and importance. We also began our projects in Professor G's class today-the goal was to make an amulet that had some sort of magical function. The book I checked out last night was very helpful in figuring out just how one went about making an amulet magical. Since I'm good with fire magic, I decided to make an amulet that makes one unaffected by fire, preventing burns and such.

Basically, after casting the spell that imbues itself with the object, you fill it with magical energy for the spell to use when activated. The spell should be self activated to perform the function for which it was cast. By suffusing a spell that is otherwise temporary with an physical, non-living item, you allow it to remain as long as the object does, only activating when needed. The material you use to bind the spell determines how magical energy is used. For instance, if you use any type of pure stone, it cannot hold magical energy, and therefore will take it from the holder when it is activated-but if you use a gemstone (some work better than others), it'll be able to hold energy that is put into it until it is needed. It's really cool. Some metals will have the same effect, but the energy stored in metal becomes useless after a time. Stone, gems, and metals each have their own usages and times they should be used-but for this project I'll be using a gemstone, specifically, Amber. It's supposed to have natural properties against evil spells-and since my amulet will be to prevent burns, it'll help when fire spells are used against the wearer.

Unlike water, air, and earth spells, which can all be used to detain/contain/imprison a threat, when fire spells are thrown in battle it is usually aiming to harm and maim, or even kill. See the connection there? Also, amber is a common gemstone, easy to get my hands on-and usually pretty cheap. I'm going to put this whole idea past Klaus, though, to see if I'm missing anything from my plan. And since I'm going to go to town with Zave this weekend, it's the perfect time to find the perfect stone-we're supposed to have an idea of what we're going do by Monday so we can have it approved by Professor G, all the materials gathered by the next Friday, and the Monday after that is when it's due. Although, at least a third of the class had theirs approved of today, including Elias and I.

Elias is planning to make an amulet that helps keep someone calm and focused. I recommended he use amythest, as it is said to help one keep a clear mind. Hey, during on of my years of self-study I had a phase where I was interested in gemstones and what their properties were-and it _did_ end up being helpful! In your face, Matthias!

Also, during lunch, which was after Practical Magic class, I was invited by Zave to sit with him, Isa, Alex, and the rest of their crowd at lunch-all of them upperclassmen. I had a lot of fun, because everyone was all very nice and accepting. There was one guys who was being overly friendly-in a flirty way-but Zave fended him off while I laughed. It was like two puppies play-fighting, and when I told them that, they both blushed (especially Zave) while everyone else laughed. It was all in good fun.

I also noticed something during lunch-I had never seen Klaus in either of the dining rooms, in the boys or girls dorm. According to Amelia (this was on my first day), both dorm dining rooms are open to girls and boys during lunch and dinner, so friends could all eat together-though usually the boys dorm dining room was where the upperclassmen went, while the underclassmen usually dined in the girls dorm, even though there were some of each in both. If I had to guess, Klaus ate in his office, the workaholic. Maybe I should invite him to come sit with me at lunch sometime-it's not a good thing to always be working. It's not healthy! I couldn't tell you how many times I've had to intervene with Merlin, who is also a workaholic, though in a different way. Klaus seems the type to at least take care of himself, unlike Merlin, who won't stop working on something until it's done and perfect unless you make him. It's a sad thing.

Now, on to after school! I went to Klaus's office, as had become the norm, and knocked, reviving a curt answer to come in, but it seemed to be more annoyed than usual. "Hello! Hey, I've got an idea for my magic amulet project that I wanted to run by you-I think I've got it pretty much figured out. I'm going to be making an amulet that makes the holder immune to the effects of fire…wait. How am I going to test it if I'm already immune to fire? Hmm…I wonder if anyone would be able to test it for me…?" I started rambling off course into a conversation with myself and then I had an idea which made me turn my attention back to Klaus, "Hey Klaus, would you be willing to help me test it when I get the prototype working?"

Klaus's POV

She comes in and starts talking about a project for one of her classes, but I can't pay very much attention. I keep thinking about when I saw her this morning, and seeing how she interacted with the Moonwalker boy. She was far different than I've ever seen her, almost like she was happier and more relaxed-and she had this extreme feminine quality about her that I had never seen in her before. She looked almost like…a normal teenage girl, older than sixteen-one who was in love but didn't quite realize it.

"Hey Klaus, would you be willing to help me test it when I get the prototype together?"

I jerked out of my thoughts when she said my name. "Why don't you get that Moonwalker kid to help you? I'm far too busy!" I snapped.

Her face held a look of utter shock, "What happened to you to sour your mood?"

I rolled my eyes, "You're obnoxiousness. Don't you ever just silence yourself?"

Her face morphed into a mask of no emotion, but her eyes held hurt, "Are you okay…?" She looked almost confused.

"No. I'm not. You do nothing but get in the way and cause trouble for me. I'm sick and tired of your attitude and your pathetic magic skills. You can't even use a simple water spell! It's almost disgraceful to have such a useless buddy like you!" Oh, I wasn't done! I'm far too far to stop this rant now. "Seriously, what in this world is wrong with you?! It's not that difficult even for a normal kid. But you're not normal! You're far too peculiar and bizarre to fall into that category!"

She was silent for a moment, her head down and her hair falling over her eyes. She hands were balled into shaking fists. Her hair was ever-so-slightly starting to flicker like flames."Well you're not the best buddy either! Always so rude and demanding! Being a perfectionist isn't always a good thing, you know! Especially when you're so plain mean about it! It's not like I _try_ to be strange! And I'm not going to change who I am just because you want me too! I'm not that kind of person! I don't crave acceptance so much that I lose sight of who I am! As for the water spells-don't you think that I've done everything in my power to change that?! I've spent hours, draining my magic and energy and stamina at rates that I don't even think are safe trying to do such magic! I _literally_ am unable to perform that kind of magic-it is beyond my power!" She was angry now. Good! "And as the one who's been teaching me that you should very well know that! At least I'm not so scary and cruel and harsh that I earned the _school-wide_ nickname 'The Emperor'!"

"Well if you don't like the way I teach then why don't you have that _Moonwalker_ friend of yours teach?!" I wasn't yelling, but I was nearly doing so, "Didn't he tell you he would!?"

Anger was what her facial features was twisted to, but her eyes showed nothing but hurt.

"Fine then! I will! _YOU BIG JERK!_ " She yelled something in English before storming off. She hadn't even taken her bag off. "But you know I turned it down because I knew _you_ wouldn't like it!" is the last thing I hear as she storms down the hallway, not having closed the door.

Wait.

What did I just do?

* * *

While Klaus may not understand what drove him to this point, I think that I, and you guys, might be able to. * _cough*jealousy*cough_ * Even if he doesn't realize it, I think we all know he is. Man, I kind of wanted to cry while I was writing this-I felt what Selene was feeling so acutely I nearly did start crying. Some of my friends and family think that getting so into a character's emotions is weird, but I have friends in Drama club who understand, so it's good enough for me. You guys understand that too, right…? Comment and let me know.

* * *

Authoress: I…

Selene: I remember that! I was so confused, and hurt…!

Klaus *sweeps Selene into an embrace*: I apologize again for doing that. It was merely petty jealousy.

Authoress: I...

Selene *laughing*: I forgave you the next day, dude. Besides, it doesn't matter. There are arguments in every relationship that is healthy. If a relationship doesn't have at least some conflict, it'll never grow stronger.

Klaus: True.

Authoress: Tha…

Selene: And many of the things you said no longer apply~! *she smiles like an idiot (that's what Klaus's calls that big grin of hers)* I can use basic water spells now and one or two ice spells~!

Authoress: Let…

Klaus: And you've been out of school how long now?

Selene: Don't tease! It's only the human in me that allows me to do that, despite what I am!

Authoress: I GIVE UP! *she stomps off, annoyed*

Klaus: I guess we should have let her speak, shouldn't've we?

Selene: Now we've done it. Guess we have to go get Yukiya again.

Klaus: Why?

Selene: Because he treats her like his sister, and Yukiya is truthfully very big brotherly (he is a big brother) and knows how to make her feel better. I mean, she has been stressed lately with everything that's going on...Oh Yukiya~!


	22. Chapter 19

I'm over 3,000 views, guys! I love you _all_! And I'm at _24_ reviews! I looked back at some of what I wrote last week, and saw how excited I got over one or two reviews and getting over 100 views...and now look at this! It makes me so proud that people actually like reading what I write!

And, as a reward for the awesome sauce makes up my fanbase, I'm posting a day early (also this an apology for posting a day late the past two weeks...sorry 'bout that...again…)!

I've actually started an Ouran High School Host Club fanfic, but I won't actually be posting it until I've posted a good deal more of this, and have gotten several chapters of that. I really don't want to end up working on more than one story at a time, especially during the schoolyear. I've got enough as it is, but it'll eventually be posted!

We get a little hint of Selene's hidden past in this chapter, and of something she herself doesn't know.

* * *

Chapter 19

" _I CAN'T BELIEVE HIM! Where the heck did all that come from?_ " I had stomped off to a remote spot on the far side of the lake, and was stomping around, ranting, " _I know I'm not the best at magic in the world-but at least I try! Does he even realize how much I train to overcome my magical weaknesses? No! He doesn't understand what it's like to be_ physically unable _to use water and ice spells! I can't help that they drain all of my magic without even giving the desired result!_ " But it wasn't that which hurt me the most. It was the jab at how weird I am. " _Why should I freakin' care if I'm not normal, huh? I am who I am and that's all I can be! It's not like I'm evil or anything! I actually_ try _to do good things with my life! I'm_ sor-ry _if I'm so useless and disgraceful! As for attitude-take a look in the mirror dude! All high and mighty as if you're the best of the best! News Flash! There's always someone better! Always!_ " I ranted on for nearly ten more minutes before losing my heat. I slumped against a tree, exhausted, and slid to the ground, bringing my knees to my chest and hugging them.

I had set my bag by this tree (even in a rage I didn't want to break something and regret it later-never let it be said that I don't take care of my stuff), and reached one arm to it, pulling out my phone. I clicked the button at the bottom and then slid the camera up ((just to let you know, it's a modified iphone)). I was surprised to see faint swirls of contrasting gold slowly leaving my silver eyes as I calmed down. Oh joy.

I had never come this close to losing myself before calming down. When the gold starts to swirl into my eyes like ink spilled in water, and when my hair begins to flicker like flames, run. It means that if my eyes completely turn gold, someone _will_ get hurt, whether I want to hurt them or not-because at that point I'm no longer in control, _she_ is. _She_ is what one might call my other persona. _She_ never comes out unless provoked to a certain point. It's only happened a total of seven times during my life-and every time _she_ ends up doing something _I_ regret. _She_ hasn't killed anyone yet. But it doesn't mean that _she_ won't.

The gold dissipates completely, leaving the pure silver I've come to regard as her prison. There's more than one reason I don't spend much time looking in the mirror. And I always forget her after a while, until something brings her to mind. Like a particularly bad argument.

Every time the gold manages to filter out, I'm always left feeling tired, spent, drained. Like how I feel now. Numb. Sometimes, after _she_ gains control, I sleep for days.

I turn my phone off and put it back in my bag-then hug my knees tighter and bury my face in them.

Unknown POV (But we'll eventually know who it is.)((p.s. when words are **bolded** it means he's speaking in a language that isn't Terran or Myulan))

Every time her seal is breached I can feel it-I was the one who created it, after all. I keep a close eye on her. She is my fault. I brought a child into a world where she didn't belong. She doesn't truly belong in either world, and never truly will. She's never met me, and she most likely never will. I am forbidden from entering the world in which she resides, and I hope she never has the misfortune of coming into mine.

I look through the edge-gilded silver mirror that has become the one that I check on her in. I never know what triggers her other self-I can only tell when and how badly. I wish every day that I could explain everything to her, but I was forced back into this world before she was even born-my punishment.

I see her curled up into a ball, on her side, under a tree that resides by a lake. It is just after twilight in that world-but it isn't Earth where she resides. I can sense that. It must be somewhere in Myula. I can guess that she went to a school there like all of her brothers did. I bring the image closer and see that she is sleeping, her face expressionless. The breach this time wasn't the most mild-it was the closest it's come to have been broken in years. Seven times it's been broken. I can only reseal it one more time if the one sealed still fights against it-after that, the seal must be made on an entirely willing being. Otherwise-I will not be able to seal it, and the child will either have to spend her days fighting it, or give in to her elemental self. Though I doubt that she will do that-her human personality is far too strong just to give up.

I see a fire pheonix immata in its night colors land on one of the branches, studying her. Her guardian. Then the creature, satisfied with the child's safety, pushes off the branch and flies into the night. I hear the sound of wind behind me and look to see that same pheonix land on the perch I have for it in the large room that serves as my workroom. " **Hello Blayze**." I address it by the name she gave him. It looks at me, expressionless. He never liked me very much. " **I think I should send another guardian to her-one that can stick to her like glue. But it cannot be seen, otherwise it'll be trouble for us all. You can't always be by her side and we need to be careful-there's only one more sealing left.** " It continues it's stare at me.

The immata takes off and flies out the open window.

…. …. ….

Selene's POV

I shiver and curl into a tighter ball. Then I feel a sharp peck on my arm. " _OW!_ " I screech, bolting up. I rub my eyes and turn to see Blayze flying up and landing on the branch of a nearby tree. Tree? Am I outside? I look around and confirm that fact-I'm on the far side of the lake from the school. What that heck am I doing here? My arm is bleeding. I reflexively grab a bandaid out of my backpack.

The it hits me. The fight with…I don't even want to think about that right now. Wait! Am I late for school? No, it's Saturday. Wait! Zave…we agreed to meet in front of the girls dorm at nine. What time is it? I go to pull my phone out and realize everything is covered in dew. Simple fix to that-and it's also the reason I'm so cold. I pull my wand out of its spot on my waistband (I'm so lucky my wand isn't wood-this isn't the first time I've fallen asleep with it in a pocket-or my waistband, in this case-because it surely would have broken by now) and cast a simple heat spell, a version of the one I use to dry my hair, and everything around me becomes dry. I pulled my phone out of my bag and checked the time.

Seven o'clock. Oh thank goodness. No time to bake anything, most likely, but I still have time to change and shower. I picked up my bag and put it over my shoulder. I yawned, standing up and brushing myself off. I began running in the direction of the dorm.

…. …. ….

"Oh my gosh, Selene! Where were you last night? I covered for you with the dorm mother, but I was so worried!" Amelia sighed and gave me a hug.

"Sorry," I smiled sheepishly, proceeding to tell her the lie I came up with on the way here (no need to worry her), "I went for a walk yesterday after training and when I took a break, I guess I just fell asleep in the sun and woke up a little while ago. To be honest, it's happened before-several times, in fact-back home. I'm so sorry for worrying you."

She smiles, "Apology accepted. Now, what are you doing today?"

"I'm supposed to meet Zave at nine, he's going to be showing me around the nearest town-apparently, anyone under the age of eighteen can't leave school grounds without parental permission or being accompanied by someone that age or older, which he is."

She squealed, "Oh my gosh! You have to let me help you get ready for your date! Please?"

"It's not a date, but sure. Knock yourself out. I, on the other hand, am going to go shower."

…. …. ….

After I showered, Amelia had _too_ much fun. She had discovered the dresses and skirts and fancy shirts my sisters had sent with me (many still had tags!) instead of my normal clothes. I managed to steer her away from the worst of the lot, ending up with the lesser of the evils in a white, knee-length skirt with golden embroidery lining the bottom, and a nice, simple, form-fitting brown shirt with sleeves that ended just below my elbows. In contrast, my usual slightly ratty tennis shoes were like a sore thumb, but no way in heck was I wearing any of the nice shoes they sent-not even a pair of flats! I didn't like them to begin with and I _was going_ to be walking around a lot. Thankfully, she accepted this argument-unlike my sisters would have, _they_ would have gone as far to send every single pair of my shoes to an interdimensional storage space created by one of them for this purpose alone. If you don't believe me, I assure you that has happened to many times for me to count, and with more than shoes. They say it's for my own good, while _I_ say it's child abuse.

She ended this with me sitting on the stool in front of the dresser mirror. She put my hair into this pretty braid called a waterfall braid ((look it up, it's pretty cool)). Then she tried convincing me to let her do makeup. I fought on this one until she gave me a sad pouty face and said that since she was the only girl because she had only an older brother, she never got the chance to do this with a sister-I folded and told her to make it minimal. She lit up like a Christmas tree and went to work. Unlike my sisters again, she actually went minimal on my request, sticking to that black stuff that goes on your eyelashes, darkening my eyebrows slightly with a brown pencil, eyeliner on my upper eyelids, and cover up on the darkish circles under my eyes, effectively erasing them. I actually liked that stuff-no dark circles? Count me in. I might actually start wearing that little bit (it saves me the trouble of constantly having to assure people that I'm not really tired, that I always have dark circles under my eyes).

By the time we were all done, it was eight thirty. I have a small backpack thing about the size of my school one that I use when I go out-it has tons of pockets (to the point where it's practically made of a bunch of pockets and one large pocket) and I love it. I put my coin purse in it (I do plan on buying the amber charm, after all-plus, I'm starving. After all that happened yesterday, I missed dinner!) as well as my phone and wand. There's actually a special pocket for my wand that I carefully stitched into it. It hides my wand from sight (necessary in Terra) but makes it easy to grab at a moment's notice. Other than that, it has some necessities that are always in it-extra snacks, tissues, bain-aids, a little umbrella (I hate the rain, it makes me depressed, and I'm not a big fan of getting wet in it either), and some pens and pencils with a small notebook. Never know when you need one, after all, and I often need one. I don't have a student ID yet-and won't until I pass the judgement-so I don't worry about that, but I do put my driver's license in my card pocket. I've only had it for a few months, and it doesn't really mean anything here, but Zave said that you have to have some form of identification when leaving and entering the school grounds, for security reasons, of course.

I head out the door of the room and said goodbye to Amelia before leaving. She smiled like she was the one going on a date-not that I was, but I couldn't convince her that it wasn't and I wasn't really in the mood to argue all that much, so she'll just have to live with her misconception-and said her goodbye. I went down the stairs to go wait outside-it was a beautiful morning after all-but I bumped into Isa and Alex in the common room. They were on a couch with a book between them.

"Oh, hello, Lena." Isa said, using my most common nickname.

"Yes, hello, oh flower of Xavier." Okay, this guy _so_ is reminding me of Tamaki-senpai from Host Club with his flowery (get it? hehe) speech.

"Yo, Isa, Alex." I responded, nodding, just to contrast with Alex, "how are you two?"

"Good."-it's actually proper to say 'well' instead of 'good' there, and even though it drives me nuts, I wasn't about to be rude and correct her-"We're just studying for this test on Monday-Alex here didn't do so well on the last one, and we need to bring our grade back up."

"That's right, I forgot that buddies grades are interdependent." I felt a cloud of gloom over my heart at the thought of buddies, "Opps. I think that I know why Klaus wasn't so happy yesterday…" I bit my lip.

"What happened?"

"We got in an argument and both of us said some pretty nasty things." I sighed. "I wasn't sure what had caused him to be so irritable, but I think I can understand why now. My grades are a little bit below average in some classes-I screw up a lot-and I completely forgot that our grades are tied. I think his is lowered because mine aren't so good. I should probably apologize about that on Monday."

She laughed, "Your first serious fight, huh? Don't worry, buddies often fight _all_ the time. Alex and I still do about plenty of things. In fact, this morning, we fought over what kind of muffin is better-banana nut or chocolate chip." She turned to Alex, "I still think chocolate chip is better!"

"It is not!" he retorted.

"I wish our argument was that simple. Haven't you guys ever tried making chocolate chip banana nut muffins? They're pretty good." I laughed.

"But that ruins the integrity of the scrumptious perfection known as the banana nut muffin!" Alex groaned, making both Isa and me laugh.

* * *

Isa: Chocolate chip is still better.

Alex: How could you say such a thing! I thought we agreed ages ago that banana nut was better!

Isa: *giggling* I only said that to get you to stop moaning and start studying.

Alex: You little…!

They go off and keep arguing about muffins, passing Selene, Klaus, and Authoress.

Selene*laughing*: They're still arguing about that?

Authoress: It appears so. *giggles*

Selene: I remember that chapter that was posted today. Little did I know that it was m…

Authoress *slaps her hand over Selene's mouth*: Don't! We're in the ender! If you reveal that, you'll ruin the entire next arc, and that one is most likely the most important one!

Selene: Sworee… *Authoress removes her hand*

Klaus: Did you really spend that night by the lake?

Selene: Yup.

Klaus: What a jerk I was that day, looking back on it, it was the first time we actually argued, in a bad way.

Selene: Yeah! You're _so_ lucky I still like you.

Klaus: Only "like?"

Selene *smirking*: Don't push it, Klausy.

Klaus: How many times have I asked you to stop calling me that?

Selene: I'll stop when your mother does. *is still smirking*

Authoress: But it ended up for a good plot twist, and all's forgiven. So moving on! Next time, reader(s), you get to finally get some revealed emotions! ;)


	23. Chapter 20

Heeeeeey Everybody! (5SOS reference!) Thanksgiving break was last week! It started after school on Tuesday. But I got _nothing_ done with this story (or with homework for that matter, I did that before my classes today (thankfully all the homework was in my last two classes…)). There was a lot of driving, and since I type this on google docs, I need wifi to work on this! Which doesn't exist in the car as we traveled from family member house to family member house over the course of the five day break.

Thank you guys for the reviews and such! Y'all are as awesome (or more so) than ever!

In this chapter (which is a bit longer than usual!), Klaus figures all his crap out! Selene also has some utterly amazing donuts! That I want because as I type this my stomach is growling!

* * *

Chapter 20

A few minutes later I left laughing (they were still debating which muffin was better), feeling much better than I had been. It was like a weight had been lifted off me. I knew why he was so upset and snapped at me-he was top student, after all, so grades must be really important to him. I myself had a few things in my life that would make me completely lose it if they were messed up-my guitar, for instance. If someone messed up my baby, they would soon be found black and blue (unless it was a true accident, of course, or they were under the age of ten). I can't really blame Klaus for the outburst, because I can understand. I feel really bad about it, and will be asking Elias this weekend what Klaus's favorite baked good is. Trust me, if that doesn't work, I'll try everything on my list of apologizing-something's bound to work. Everyone has a choice on my apology list that works on them for forgiveness.

I go outside and lean on the gate, plugging in, as I'm a few minutes early. I'm in the mood for a goosebump song-you know, a song that gives you goosebumps, so I slide through my long list of music looking for the right song to match my mood-it's rare that I don't have a song to match my mood. I see the perfect song and click it- _Haunted_ by Taylor Swift. I love the chorus of this one.

 _You and I walk a fragile line_

 _I have known it all this time_

 _But I never thought I'd live to see it break_

 _It's getting dark and it's all too quiet_

 _And I can't trust anything now_

 _And it's coming over you like it's all a big mistake_

 _Oh, I'm holding my breath_

 _Won't lose you again_

 _Something's made your eyes go cold_

 _Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

 _I thought I had you figured out_

 _Something's gone terribly wrong_

 _You're all I wanted_

 _Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

 _I thought I had you figured out_

 _Can't breathe whenever you're gone_

 _Can't turn back now, I'm haunted_

 _Stood there and watched you walk away_

 _From everything we had_

 _But I still mean every word I said to you_

 _He will try to take away my pain_

 _And he just might make me smile_

 _But the whole time I'm wishing he was you instead_

 _Oh, I'm holding my breath_

 _Won't see you again_

 _Something keeps me holding on to nothing_

 _Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

 _I thought I had you figured out_

 _Something's gone terribly wrong_

 _You're all I wanted_

 _Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

 _I thought I had you figured out_

 _Can't breathe whenever you're gone_

 _Can't turn back now, I'm haunted_

 _I know, I know, I just know_

 _You're not gone. You can't be gone. No._

 _Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

 _I thought I had you figured out_

 _Something's gone terribly wrong_

 _Won't finish what you started_

 _Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

 _I thought I had you figured out_

 _Can't breathe whenever you're gone_

 _Can't go back, I'm haunted_

 _Oh...You and I walk a fragile line_

 _I have known it all this time_

 _Never ever thought I'd see it break._

 _Never thought I'd see it..._

I closed my eyes and air guitared/lip synced along. I should see if Blayze would be able (and willing) to bring my guitar over. When the song was over I heard faint clapping, and my eyes snapped open to see a smiling Zave. I unplugged quickly and turned off my phone, shoving both earbuds and phone into my bag. I bit my lip awkwardly, " _Sorry, didn't see you there._ "

" _It's perfectly alright. I missed half of the song, but what I did see was impressive. Do you actually play guitar?_ "

" _Yeah. I left it at home, though, and I sort of regret it. I'm going to wait until after my judgement to see if I should send home for it._ "

" _Ah, that's right, you're a provisional student. But don't worry, I know in my soul that you'll make it in, easy-peasy._ "

I laughed, " _You know it in your soul, huh? Now I_ know _I'll make it._ "

" _Are you ready to go then, Miss Music?_ "

"That's a new nickname to add to my long list." I switched to Geolunan. "I think I should stick to Geolunan today-I slipped up a few times in class yesterday. Somewhere along the line Professor G learned English, and when I realized he had responded to my question in English, and that I had been speaking in it-I seriously hadn't realized it-Luca cracked a joke about it. Seriously, that kid choose the right time if he was looking for laughs."

"Professor G? Wait, do you mean Professor Giovanni?"-I nodded, causing Zave to laugh-"Of course he knows it, he's my half-brother."

"Seriously?" I remember Zave mentioning that he had an older half-brother, from his mother's first marriage. "That's awesome! He's class is my favorite-it's so much fun."

"That's my brother. He always is telling me that he hated the classes that were boring and it made life harder, so he tries to make his classes fun and easy to pay attention to."

"Well tell him I said he's doing a good job."

"I don't think I should-it'd go to his head." We laughed. "Well, then, are you ready to go, milady?" He smiled and held out his hand.

I gave him a light-hearted _are-you-kidding-me?_ look, "Very much, milord, yet only if thou art ready."

"Well this lord is hungry for some breakfast, so I'd say I am." He said, breaking our goofy old-fashioned speech talk, making me smile-and my stomach release a loud, angry growl. No dinner last night, so no way in heck will breakfast suffer the same fate.

"And then you mentioned food." I sighed, "How fast can we get to this 'breakfast' concept?"

"Clearly not fast enough." He grinned and held out his hand again, "Let's blow this popsicle stand." I took his hand and he led me to wherever it was we were going.

…. …. ….

" _Ohmigoodnssthsishamahshin_!" I moaned through a mouthful of donut.

Zave laughed, "I knew you'd like it. This is my favorite cafe. Your muffin from the other day though, that was truly amazing."

I swallowed, "I may be okay at baking and cooking most things, but when it comes to frying things...I'd just rather not say too much. I _always_ get sizzled. And it hurts."

"I thought you were fireproof." He looked confused.

"Only _fire_ proof. I can still be scalded with steam, hot water, or oil. And I can get sunburn-solely because the sun overpowers _all_."

He smiled a lopsided smile, "Makes sense, I guess."

I looked around, "And this place is a bit girly. Do you come here alone? Because that would take guts for even me, because even though I am a girl, I'm pretty tomboyish."

"Naw, I normally drag Isa and Alex along with me." I laughed at that, and he smiled. "It is a popular spot for couples, though, so Isa enjoys it, and as long as she's happy and he gets his banana nut muffin, Alex is alright with it."

"They were debating about that this morning. It was pretty funny."

"It's hilarious. Alex will get very defensive of his banana nut muffins-but you should see the way he acts about his waffles. It's funny and _really_ strange at the same time."

"I can see that _too_ well." I said, laughing, picking up another donut. This one had white frosting with chocolate icing drizzled on top. I took a bite…"Mmm…"

"You are really hungry, aren't you?"

"No dinner, combined with late breakfast and freaky fast metabolism, makes for a very starving Selene." I had already eaten seven donuts, this being my eighth, him only up to five.

He grinned, "I like a girl who can eat."

Klaus's POV

I did end up going to town. I planned on apologizing to Selene on Monday-I said some really nasty things that I didn't really mean, and I could tell that her words were just ones of retaliation. I also wasn't very honest with my words-she wasn't useless, actually she was quite helpful with the cleaning, and she was pretty smart when she applied herself. She was right about herself. She was independant and confident, and something about her just made one-just made me-admire her strength of character. And what I said about her magic, I was exaggerating greatly…did she really work that hard? If so, she worked harder than even Elias at her magic, and I've never met anyone who worked as hard at magic as my brother. And there's something different about her magic, something that prevents her from being able to work with water and ice spells, yet excel beyond normal in fire magic.

Then there was that look on her face as she stormed off…like she wasn't just angry, but really hurt too, and I'd bet she didn't even know why I snapped. Heck, _I_ don't even understand what made me so irritable about her.

I think about that as I walk along. What was it that made me so angry? I walk into my favorite cafe. While the decoration may be a little feminine, the goods they sold were divine. Though I have to say that I liked Selene's cookies better. She is a good cook, I'll give her that. I wait a second to be seated, and am soon led to a table meant for two, one by the corner window. The waitress recognized me-I come nearly every weekend, after all. I sit and tell her my order-chocolate muffin, two vanilla iced donuts, and a vanilla hot chocolate. I usually don't order that sort of drink, but it's what sounds good to me right now. The waitress leaves and I return to my thoughts. When did I first become annoyed? I must think through this logically. I'm not sure. I know I wasn't on Thursday. So it must have been Friday, in the morning, I believe.

I hear someone laughing and turn to find the source of the noise. It sounded familiar. I turn to see, a few tables away, nearly hidden from my view, Selene. Selene? She was wearing a skirt and nice shirt, and was that makeup? I have never seen her wear makeup-or anything girly in the slightest-in fact, she occasionally whines about the skirt of the girls uniform, and the way it limits mobility. So why was she suddenly all gussied up now? I watched as she picked up a donut and took a bite. Her face softened into one of ecstasy, and she looked almost like a goddess of some sort. A minor one, but one none the less. I had never seen this sort of look from her.

"You're really hungry, aren't you?" That voice sounded familiar.

"No dinner, combined with late breakfast and freaky fast metabolism, makes for a very starving Selene." She said as she took another bite. Wait, why didn't she have dinner? She never missed a meal if she could help it-and she was always snacking during training, and during class as well, according to Elias.

"I like a girl who can eat."

"Really?" She nearly laughs, "My sisters tell me that it isn't ' _ladylike'_ to eat as much as I do, and many of my brothers constantly complain about how I'm always taking the food they were going to eat. Even some of my nephews comment regularly about how I'm going to get fat is I keep it up-they aren't the most tactful of kids." She's clearly amused by this person, who I can tell is a man, but I can't quite place him yet. Is she on a _date?_ Her? It's hard to picture, because she really doesn't seem the type. The waitress set my order on the table and left. I start eating while I listen.

"Well I like it. I don't really like it when girls are constantly dieting and 'fasting'-unless it's because of religion or a medical condition or something, it's really not healthy. Besides, it's fun watching you eat those donuts. You seem like you enter heaven every time you take a bite."

"I can't help it! These are _really_ good!" She said, her face turning slightly pink. Was she...blushing? A hand reached out and its thumb wiped the corner of her mouth.

"Missed some." Her face darkened slightly. She _was_ blushing. And whoever that was was definitely flirting with her, even if she didn't realize it. I didn't like it and wasn't sure why.

"Y-you could of just told me!" She exclaimed, "And plus, it is so not sanitary to stick it in your mouth." He... _what?!_

"You come from a big family, surely similar happens all the time." He teased.

"Not really!" She defended. "Not that I've seen anyway. At least with the sticking it in your mouth-we all wipe my nephews' mouths with napkins when they forget." She was babbling, and seemed almost nervous. If I wasn't so mad about the daring of that guy, I'd've found her reaction cute. Why was she with this guy anyway? "Anyway, I'm done now. I really need to find that amber charm for my project. Is there any shops in this town that might sell something like that? You'll need to help me with the money though, I still don't know which coin is worth what. My brother's are not the best at teaching others."

"Alright then. I do know a place actually." They both stood up, their chairs scraping, "Let the tour commence. And don't worry, by tonight you'll have the currency down pat." She laughed again, and the two of them headed towards the door, allowing me to see the man she was with. It was the Moonwalker boy. It seems she took it seriously, to ask him instead of me. That makes me mad. More like infuriated.

And then it hits me. I know what made me so irritable. What caused me to snap at her. What's been bothering me since yesterday.

It's...jealousy.

* * *

Authoress: _Fiiiiiinnnallllllyyyeeeee….~!_ Man, Klaus, and I thought Selene was oblivious, but you're a close second.

Klaus *annoyed tick mark on his forehead*: I still figured it out first, mind you. And I was the one who had to put up with it for a month.

Selene: Still, I still can't believe you fell in love that fast. I guess that with some people, you know just right away. I also think that I'm just a dunderhead when it comes to these things, especially then.

Klaus: You're right about that.

Selene: Hey! Just because I call myself a dunderhead doesn't mean you get to! Now go sit in the corner and think about what you've done!

Klaus: It seems like mother mode has come out again.

Selene: Again with the modes! There are no modes, just moods and mindsets! I'm one person with one flexible 'mode' and you can get over it.

Klaus: Someone's feisty today.

Selene: Bite me, _**baka**_.

Klaus: If you wish.

Selene *runs away shouting at him as Klaus approaches*: It's just a saying you uttery ninny! We've been over this!

(They both leave the screen)

Authoress: Man, those two need to grow up.

Randy: Tell us about it!

Taffy: Yes! Yes! Tell tell!

Authoress *laughing*: Seriously, you guys are just as bad in a different way. Hey Taffy, you've read ahead (read: Authoress read the next chapter to you), so why don't you give the teaser?

Taffy: Yay! I will I will! What happens is Zave asks, Selene stutters, Klaus mad mad!

Authoress *laughing*: Perfect! (in her head: oh Taffy...you crack me up)

Randy *a little whiny*: But I can't tell what's happening with just that!

Authoress: Then you'll just have to wait until next week, won't you? It'll be a good test of patience.

Randy *still a bit whiny* *pouting*: _Aaaaaaauthoreeeeeessss...~!_


	24. Chapter 21

Holy crap, I can't even tell you how much I fangirled last Thursday. Some of you might know why, and it was a triple boosting for the current spin-off, but that was just icing on the brownies-JOEL'S ROUTE FINALLY CAME OUT HOLY CANNOLI I HAVEN'T BEEN THIS EXCITED SINCE KLAUS' ROUTE CAME OUT!

So yeah, I'm still very excited. I'm on chapter three now! It's actually really different so far from the other routes. I swear to you that each new route gets more well-written and intricate. Klaus is still my favorite by far!

Yukiya is a Cutie, Elias is Adorable, Luca is Playful, Randy is a Ball Of Fun, Azusa is a Jerk, and Klaus is HAWT. That is what each of the boys is too me. From what I can tell, Joel seems to be a combination of Klaus, Elias, and Yukiya with his personality. I'll let you know how that turns out.

And don't worry guys! I pinky promise that Klaus won't even up forever alone and heartbroken! I swear it!

Oh, and it's the same with Elias, Yukiya, Luca, and Randy. I have planned OC pairings for them that will take place in this same world of mine, but they'll only feature a few times in this particular one-they'll all eventually get their own separate story. Even Azusa (who I like the absolute least) will get one, though it will completely unrelated to this world and won't be a love story dealing with him, exactly-but it's an awesome idea in my head! But Azusa, I've decided, won't exist in this fanfiction, merely for plot reasons. Joel featuring in a few chapter may or may not happen, depending on how I feel about it after I finish his route.

NOTICE: I'm so sorry guys but for the time being I'm going to have to cut down my posting from once a week to once every two weeks! I'm starting to run out of prewritten chapters and school takes up a _huge_ chunk of my time. But worry not, dear readers! I shall _not_ abandon this story! Hopefully this is only temporary and I can get a lot written over christmas break, which is in two weeks! But for now, I will be posting every other week. So so sorry!

Okay, and just to let you guys know, Selene and Zave have talked about a lot of things, so they know each other really well at this point. Selene's told him all about her family and her past (for the most part, but most of everyone has things that they don't want to think about, much less share), and so has he told her. He knows her better than anyone else in the academy by far at this point. This will make this chapter make more sense.

Here comes the fluff!

* * *

Chapter 21

I was walking around in awe. The ceiling-high shelves were filled with all sorts of items that could be used with magic and potions and ect. The narrow aisles weren't stifling, but cozy. It smelled like old paper, herbs, and fun. I loved it. I was wandering around, eyes sparkling and full of awe, like a kid in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's factory. I brushed my hand over all manner of things, some I had only seen in a potion book or the like. I had nearly forgotten my purpose of coming here. Zave had just been following me silently, smiling like he was amused.

"So what's so funny?" I inquired, not taking my eyes off of the shelves.

"The way you look so blissful. You'd think we were in some grand palace or in an unexplored ruins or something. It's pretty adorable."

I stopped and turned to face him, "Why do you keep doing that?!"

He tilted his head to the side, innocent expression on his face, "Doing what? Am I doing something to upset you? If so, please let me know."

"More like confusing me. Why do you keep calling me things like 'adorable' or 'cute'? Those words don't belong in the same sentence that refers to me." I gave him a look that said: _seriously-they-don't_.

"And why do you keep saying things like that?" He responded, "You are. I find everything about you amazing, perfect, cute, and adorable."

My eyes widened and my face heated up. He stared at me, honesty clear in his eyes, along with something else, something I couldn't quite place. It didn't frighten me, more like it gave me a warm feeling in my chest. It was weird. Really weird. "Y-you can't be s-serious! You're just t-talking cra-crazy!" I stuttered.

He just gently grabbed my hand and raised it to his lips, kissing my knuckles. "Yet I am. I really like you, Selene, and not just as a friend. I was actually hoping to find a chance to ask you this today, but would you be my girlfriend?"

I just stood there and stared, to surprised to even blush. Instead, after a moment of silence, I began to babble nervously, "Seriously? I'm just a weirdo, a freak who can't even use simple water or ice magic! I'm nothing close to normal, and never will be! Plus, I'm not really girlfriend material, anyway!" I went on for nearly three minutes before he burst into laughter, holding his sides and continuing until tears began to form at the edges of his eyes.

When he finally quelled his laughter, "That was the silliest bunch of lies I've _ever_ heard! You're amazing, and the fact that you have flaws just proves that I may be able to level myself with you, because you seem so far above me, like you're superhuman. It shows that you're human, and this particular human has unwittingly stolen my heart. And I like the fact that you aren't normal, it makes so even more special and unique and interesting and awesome. You couldn't be more so." It was so sweet that I was speechless. I wasn't even sure what to think. My head, though, was hot, blood rushing to it until I knew I was red to the tips of my ears. I blinked, unsure of what to do. "You don't have to accept!" He blurted, suddenly nervous, "I'm perfectly fine with just staying friends!"

I looked down and muttered my reply.

Klaus's POV

After I left the bookstore (I had successfully found a book on English, but it had taken some digging, and it was slightly older, according to the shop owner, about fifty years old-I was told that it would be the same for the most part, but I planned to find a better one on a later date. I'd probably have to order it from somewhere specially.) I was headed to the item store, where one could purchase all sorts of random odds and ends for magical purposes-I needed more magic paper, which allowed the words written upon it to only be read by the writer and the one to whom it was written. I often used it for communicating with the headmaster. I might have to ask Selene how she'd recommend learning english, and pass my desire to learn it off as sheer curiosity.

Ever since I figured out what that emotion I was feeling was, I've been thinking on it. Pondering. I'm in love with a stubborn, argumentative, helpful, ever-smiling, strange, unique, little imp. I shook my head. Love is the most complex and strangest of emotions. One never knows how or when or where it will strike. It's baffling and wonderful at the same time. Now, how she'd react to this is an entirely different matter. I'm sure that if I told her now, before I apologized to her, she'd panic and rebuke me without a second thought. I don't doubt that she'd get angry; I do seem to have a talent for setting her off.

I walk into the item shop and head over to the section where the paper section is. They really need to properly reorganize this place-the system is loose at best, items separated into sections and jumbled together. And there is no set price for most of it, so it's easy for an experienced barterer to get a decently low price for most anything. It's got all sorts of magical odds and ends, and pretty much anything a wizard could use for school projects. I wonder if Moonwalker brought Selene here at some point so she could look for the charm she needed. I wonder if she did ask him to help her with the project, asked him to tutor her instead of me doing so.

At that though jealousy burned throughout me, though my face kept its usual calm and collected expression. Now that I've identified the emotion and its cause, I knew how to contain, if not control it, to a certain extent. My heart and head may be in turmoil, but it will not be seen in my countenance. I forbid it from doing do. And the only one who doesn't listen to my forbidding is her. _Sigh_...is this what being in love is like? Noticing that nearly all of your thoughts have some sort of connection, however vague, to the one whom you love? Noticing everything about who they are, what they are like?

I push the overly philosophical thoughts to the back of my mind, unable to push them out of my head entirely. _Focus, Klaus, focus._ I sifted through the stacks of paper, at least half of them unmarked, their powers unknown. It drove me crazy to not know what things were, what they did. I had the urge to categorize them, learn their secrets of what they do. Maybe that was why I was so hopelessly fixated on that buddy of mine. She was unpredictable, and her secrets seemed endless, her expressions and her questions seemed endless. Maybe she was predictable in the way that she wasn't. There's the thoughts again. I can't rid myself of them.

I decide to start wandering the store, seeing if I needed anything else that I couldn't call to mind at the moment. Did I need anything…? Mayhaps another set of general ingredients for my advanced potions class, or a book. A book on various forms of fire magic might be helpful for training, considering her abilities. Or a book on how to teach someone ice magic if they literally are unable to use it. Hey, there is probably a book on it in this shop of randoms. I wouldn't doubt it. I move towards the back of the shop, where the organization is less and less-why the gem section next to the book section, who knows?

"Y-you can't be s-serious! You're just t-talking cra-crazy!" I hear someone stutter a sentence and I could tell it was Selene just from the sound of her voice, though the emotion in it was new. Why is this girl everywhere?! If she's here, it must mean Moonwalker's here-and that means I'm going to eavesdrop. If he's done something, death will be coming sooner than later….woah! Slow down, Klaus, don't jump to conclusions. I hear it coming from the next row over, so they must be on the other side of the ceiling-high shelve.

"Yet I am. I really like you, Selene, and not just as a friend. I was actually hoping to find a chance to ask you this today, but would you be my girlfriend?" Only my willpower kept me from storming over to them and pulling her away, far away. Some part of me hoped she'd turn him down, another felt like screaming in jealousy, for fear that she would.

"Seriously? I'm just a weirdo, a freak who can't even use simple water or ice magic! I'm nothing close to normal, and never will be! Plus, I'm not really girlfriend material, anyway!" Wait...isn't that similar to what I told her on Friday…? She continues to babble on, degrading her self-worth. I want to rush over and beg for her forgiveness for the cruel words I said yesterday, to embrace her and tell her everything. But something won't let me. Pride? Maybe.

After a minute or so, Moonwalker starts laughing. "That was the silliest bunch of lies I've _ever_ heard! You're amazing, and the fact that you have flaws just proves that I may be able to level myself with you, because you seem so far above me, like you're superhuman. It shows that you're human, and this particular human has unwittingly stolen my heart. And I like the fact that you aren't normal, it makes so even more special and unique and interesting and awesome. You couldn't be more so." ' _As much as I hate to admit it, he's quite good with voicing his thoughts in a way that makes it seem nice...whereas I am always painfully blunt_.' Which was something Selene had told me-that there's different ways to say the same thing, and still have it mean the same.

Selene didn't say a word. If I had to guess, I'd say she was frozen, her eyes wide, making her look like a child again. "You don't have to accept!" He blurted, suddenly nervous, "I'm perfectly fine with just staying friends!" He just pulled that card. The card that is bound to give him the win. I'm screwed in this, aren't I? But I still don't intend to lose...I hope.

Selene said something so quietly I couldn't hear from where I was. She most likely was to embarrassed to say it louder. She's accepted. She has, hasn't she...?

I mentally slump in defeat even as my face strengthens its mask. I think it's time for me to go. I glide off, not making a sound. I purchase my book without even bargaining for a lower price like I usually do, and leave. I feel hollow. Is that a normal side-effect in this sort of situation...?

Just what has that child done to me?

* * *

Selene: Wait...what?! You were there that day?! Why didn't you tell me!

Klaus: I had no need to. That was a time in my life you didn't need to know about. In addition to that, I didn't really want to come off as a stalker, especially since I that was the second time that day I had run into you.

Selene: Liar! You just wanted to act like you never get jealous like I do whenever Cynthia's around!

Klaus: Oh you do, do you? Wonderful. (grabs her arm and pulls her into him) But you should remember that you are mine, oh Princess of Fire.

Selene: (face flushed and squirming) Let go of me, perv! And I've told you not to call me that, Your Rudeness!

Klaus *smirking*: (leans in close to her face) And what are you going to do about it?

Authoress: ( she's just walked in, (and thinks,) *I'm going to leave now* (walks out) Maybe taking away their wands and locking them in their individual rooms between sets would stop

Klaus. Problem is, Selene wouldn't stay-what it I get Luca or Elias to enchant the lock so she can't pick it? That might work. And I'm pretty sure that she's taught Klaus some basic lock picking, so we'd have to do that same with his lock… *keeps mumbling plans to herself*

Luca: (turning the corner) Oh, Authoress! I was looking for you!

Authoress: Why…?

Luca: _So suspicious, thou art!_

Authoress: Don't mock me! Or I won't help you with whatever it is you need!

Luca: (sighs) Alright, alright, I'll stop for now. I wanted to talk to you about me part in the story. I feel like I should get more screen time.

Authoress: You do realize that I'm keeping this true to life, correct? Therefore, while you will have a few scenes as some point, you won't be getting more than you originally did. Plus, you get a girlfriend later on, so shoo fly. I have to go figure out how to separate Klaus from his wand between sets-so unless you want to help, buh-bye!

Luca: Sounds interesting. You'll get my help.

Authoress: Lovely. Now you just have to help me convince Eli. And you will have to work together. Remember that words are binding! Bye everyone!

Luca: Who are you talking to?

Authoress: I'm breaking the fourth wall, got a problem? No? Good. Buh-bye now!


	25. Chapter 22

Okay guys, it's been two weeks since the last update! It's currently the beginning of my winter break, and so I'm hopeful I can get some more chapters done and switch back one update a week soon! Let's do this! I've decided to post a day early because I'm going to be posting a special Midwinter chapter (the Myulan version of Christmas) later this week. It's thirteen pages long on google docs, and has the perfect ending! I worked nonstop (meaning before every class started, and whenever I possibly could) on it for four days the other week, and SuccinctHeart, my unofficial beta reader, has assured me it's perfect!

I thank all of you for staying with this, and those of you who comment, and those of you who follow/favorite this lame story...you all are the best readers I could hope for!

You really have to feel bad for Klaus...I nearly felt like crying when I wrote that last chapter. Poor Klaus, he just realized his feelings and now the tender new love has been crushed! In this chapter, Klaus decides to work himself to the point of distraction, while Selene plans to mend the rift that the bond between her and Zave caused...her thinking that it's because of her grades. Oh Selene, how naive thou art! Enjoy~!

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Chapter 22

Selene's POV

I was now back in my dorm room, it being nearly dinner.

I guess I could act like _that_ never happened, but then the readers, you guys, would feel jipped. I turned Zave down, well, sorta. I said that I really didn't know what being in love felt like, and I didn't want to rush into something and wanted to wait until I knew. Zave was really sweet about it, being all: "That's perfectly fine!" and "I'll gladly wait!" and he was very pleasant about it. It wasn't even awkward after it all was over-he helped me find what I needed for class (and I also got some things that I just thought were awesome, like the little pouch that was like Hermione's from Harry Potter, the one where it was a lot bigger on the inside than it was on the outside because of a complex magic spell, and the ring I found-according to the shopkeeper, I had found a good item, because the ring was a spell breaker, made with anti-magic and capable of breaking or reversing all but the most complex and strong of spells. It was little pricey, but Zave confirmed that it was what the shopkeeper said it was, and so therefore it was worth it. With how often I mess up, this thing will end up being very useful. There are several places in the woods back home that are bespelled still because no one has been able to figure out how to break them. The shopkeeper even allowed me to test it-meaning Zave enchanted him so he was unable to move and I used my will to use the ring's power, breaking the spell. It was so worth the the ten gold coins I managed to talk the shopkeeper down to (the average wand costs two gold coins, while specialized and custom wands tend to be five to eight gold coins, so that shows that it was pricey)). After we left the store, he showed me around a little more, then we had lunch at a place similar to a Terran deli, called an "Esca" shop.

And after lunch we headed back to the school grounds so we each could have time to do our homework (meaning I needed to do all the homework I had neglected last night, he had all but finished his). He was a complete gentleman the entire time, and it was almost like _it_ had never happened. Problem is, I couldn't stop thinking about it. No guy had ever done that, never asked me out or said such sweet things...and I had no clue how to react! I had never really been interested in romance because I was content with the way my life was. Now I had no clue at what was going on. A part of me wanted to accept his affection because it knew that I'd be happy, but another was dead against it and telling me to wait. Wait for what though? Someone else? Another time? What?!

So, instead of continually panicking, I dedicated all my thoughts to homework for the rest of the day. And the next day.

Elias's POV (Sunday Afternoon)

I spent the morning studying for class on Monday, and decided to go ask Klaus for some pointers in this spell I wasn't getting quite right after an early dinner. I was at his door, and knocked.

"Who is it?" I heard my brother's familiar voice from the other side of the door.

"It's Elias."

"Come in." So I opened the door and walked in, shutting it behind me. "What it is that you need, brother?"

"Well I was having trouble getting this fire spell right and I…" I cut myself off as soon as I looked at Klaus. His hand had twitched when I said "fire spell," causing his pencil point to break off. Something was wrong-he was more focused on his work than I had ever seen him and his eyes looked almost...hollow. "What's wrong."

He looked up at me, the hollow look in his eyes being confirmed, "Whatever do you mean? Nothing is wrong. Nothing at all."

I crossed my arms and looked at him, "Now, I may not be as perceptive as my roommate,"-Yukiya didn't speak all that much, but when he did, it was usually this scarily perceptive comment that came out of what seemed like nowhere at times-"but I can tell when something is wrong with my brother."

He continued staring blankly at me, "You aren't like your roommate. Because nothing is wrong."

Usually at this point, he'd be glaring and I'd get flustered and start stuttering, but something gave me the stubbornness to stand my ground. I returned his stare, mine firm instead of hollow, "Tell. Me. What. Is. Wrong."

He sighed, annoyed, "When did you get so stubborn, Elias?"

"Perhaps Selene's surplus of it is starting to rub off on me." He almost imperceptibly flinched when I said the name of his buddy. "It's Selene, isn't it? What happened?"

Again at her name he twitched ever so slightly. He was the best person I knew at being able to control emotion. If he was reacting this much, something was very, very wrong. "Nothing. I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"When did you become a liar, Klaus?" I threw the deadpanned mocking retort back at him. When _did_ I get so stubborn? I blame Selene. She must be here in spirit. Knowing her, I wouldn't doubt it.

Now he was mad, and I felt like trembling. It was scary enough watching someone else bear the brunt of his anger, let alone be that someone. "Nothing that concerns you, _brother_." His tone was scary, "Now I suggest you leave. Why don't you go get help from _Selene_ since you seem so ready to talk about her."

Now I was trembling slightly. But I still stood my ground, "Maybe I will. She seems more likely to tell me what's going on here-she trusts me enough to tell me when something is wrong. It's a bit sad how someone who met me last Monday is more willing to trust me than my own _brother_."

This clearly hurt him.

"What I really mean, Klaus, is that I want you to trust me. You've been right there for me whenever I've needed you, throughout my _entire_ life. It frustrates me that you won't let me help you. I'm your brother, Klaus, let me do what I can to help you. _Please._ " I looked him dead in the eyes, hoping to convey the truth of my words. He slumped in his chair in defeat, suddenly looking dead exhausted. "Now, tell me, _what is wrong._ " I pulled the tall stool from the corner over to the front of his desk. It'd feel too strange going behind it. I sat down and looked at Klaus, waiting. "Let's start at the beginning. Tell me what happened with Selene in the first place. You looked annoyed when I saw you on Friday, and now you look like you haven't slept since then. Explain."

This was very new for me. Never had I convinced Klaus to open up like this to me. And what unfolded amazed me. Once he started, he didn't stop other than to take the occasional breath. He told me of how during the last few days of the week he had been slowly been becoming more and more agitated for a reason he couldn't place. And on Friday, Selene had come to training babbling happily about a project idea for one of her classes-' _It must be the amulet project for Professor G's class'-_ and something had made him snap at her, and in her shock she snapped back, and soon they were almost yelling at each other, and then she had stormed off and he had realized that he was in the wrong. Then, on Saturday, he was contemplating what had caused him to blow up like that, he realized something. He was in love.

That took me aback. Klaus...in love? The concept was baffling. I knew I looked visibly shocked when Klaus paused and glared at me, clearly telling me _What? It happened. Deal with it._ (Why did that sound suspiciously like something Selene would say…?) I shook my head, "I'm sorry brother. Continue."

He sighed, "As turns out, both Selene and that Moonwalker kid were in town yesterday as well."

"Wait, do you mean Xavier Moonwalker? The one who's been hanging around with Selene the past few days?"

"Yes." Was all he said.

"Then, is it because you were...jealous? I mean, were you jealous that he was so friendly with her?"

"Yes."

We sat in silence for a few moments. "C-continue…" I said, wanting to break this awful silence.

He took a deep breath. "I was jealous. And once I realized that, I thought I could control it. I didn't realize it was jealousy until I saw him shamelessly trying to flirt with her while they were eating breakfast. I thought I could control it until I saw them again later, in that nameless odds and ends magic shop. I heard them talking on the other side of the shelve in the row I was in. He was complimenting her over and over while she kept denying them, saying they weren't true. She went on for a few minutes about how she wasn't those things he told her she was. A lot of what she said was things I said to her back on Friday."

"Is that what you're beating yourself up about?" I asked.

"Partially." Klaus took another deep breath. "But after she said all that, he started laughing and telling her she was being silly. Then he confessed."

My eyes grew wide. The woman he loved was confessed to, and in a place where he heard it? That's almost like going to the underworld only to find out the only thing to eat was raw liver-insult added to the injury.*

"And...what was her answer…?" I said hesitantly.

This question struck him like a spear. I inhaled sharply, "I'm going to guess that it wasn't a 'no'." He slumped, looking utterly defeated. And it scared me more than his anger ever could. I had to do something.

"Come on, brother. Snap out of it! Are you really going to let this girl do this to you." He looked up, hurt clearly in his eyes. "You are a Goldstein! The only Prefect in this academy! The top student! My astonishing, amazing older brother! If a single heartbreak over a girl you met a week ago does this to you, then what chance in anything do the rest of us have?" The hurt in his eyes was replaced...or pushed away, at least, with determination.

"You're right, little brother. I can't let this get to me. I have to be better than that."

I felt relieved, this was more like my brother. "And, from what you described, and from my own knowledge of Selene, she probably is utterly confused and doesn't have a clue at what's going on. She doesn't seem the type to know all the much about dating and romance."

He gave me a raised eyebrow, his signature smirk back on his face, "Seems like another thing the two of you have in common."

I blushed and began stuttering, "S-so? It's not l-like I need to...studying is what's important!"

"So are friends. I'm glad you've made a few." It seemed like the more we were talking, the more he was returning to his old self. It made me glad I could help him.

"You could stand to do the same." I returned his raised eyebrow, "And don't say you don't need any. You probably need them more than I do at this point. Hey, I just realized that friends are the one thing I surpass you in. Can't have the younger surpassing the elder, now can we?"

He shook his head, but I saw the small smile, "Come on, brother, scram. I've got work to do. Go study or something." I know he was feeling better, and so my work is done.

But I still need help with that fire spell. I really should go ask Selene…

Klaus's POV

I watched my brother leave through the door. It wasn't until after he left that I realized that I never helped him with that spell. He probably will end up asking Selene tomorrow in class or something.

He's right, though. I need to suck it up and act like a man. I can picture Selene telling me that. And besides, even if she's currently dating Moonwalker, that doesn't mean she always will be. I still have a chance. If I can't be her first, I can be her last, after all. But for now, I think I should keep my distance, wait until I'm in better control of my emotions.

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Authoress: Okay, my friend SuccintHeart269 gets to do the ender this time! It's what her reaction to this point in time of my story was, and she said I could use it! Enjoy! (P.S. I'm going to abbreviate her name to SH!)

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SH: Hey Klaus!

Klaus: What?

SH: What's the point of thinking that she said yes to Zave, even though that would break your heart?

Klaus: Well with what Zave was saying, and the emotions I was feeling at the time, I had to assume that was a yes...

SH: But it broke your heart?

Klaus: Well-

SH: And you ended up working so much to DISTRACT yourself?!

Klaus: Hey!

SH: You have problems... but I guess that is what you get from the supreme prefect of Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy, a certified elite knight wizard annnddd... a Goldstein! Your life must be tough!

Klaus: Why are we even talking about this again?

SH: Because I am typing this up for a response for a fanfiction friend and I'm bored! And I like to see your reactions sometimes, ok?!

Klaus: Jeez... Anyway... have you seen Selene... or Vannellope... or who ever's fanfiction this is anyway?

SH: Good question! I saw Vannellope helping her father in his office, Clara fantasizing about her bracelet and Selene doing a project with Zave... wait a min... shouldn't have added that last part!

Klaus: Grr...! Selene!

SH: Well it looks like my work here is done! Overall I asked Klaus some emotional questions, made fun of this prestigious Goldstein annnddd... got Klaus worrying about Selene with Zave! Bye!

Klaus: Wait a min! You were trying to do all this... weird thing... for some stupid audience! And-

SH: Hold on there! You're calling my views, stupid?! That's it! This. Is. Over! Bye my fantastic friends!

Klaus: I'm going back to my office now...

SH: Oh no you don't!


	26. Midwinter (Christmas) Special

This is to make up for (hopefully) the cut down of posting!

(Note: Instead of Christmas, which is a Christian holiday (which is something that is Terran-only, to be honest), the holiday in Myula is Midwinter.)

And Mr. Walter Goldstein, as you may notice, isn't the biggest supporter of Klaus's relationship with that rude, unladylike heathen child (or, in other words, Selene). Oh, and anyone who's read Klaus' route knows who Miss Elaine is.

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Christmas Special

It was almost time. Sabrina woke up on the morning of Christmas Eve _Midwinter's Eve_ feeling as if it was Christmas _Midwinter_ morning. Gotta remember that. It was her first Chri-Midwinter away from home. Yes, for the first time, she was at her own lover's house (something her brother's had been doing more and more as they grew older) for the holiday's. Soon before last holidays, there was an _incident_ and she pretty much needed to stay home (for reason's you'll all eventually know). This was the same "smaller" room she stayed in on her last few visits to the Goldstein estates. In truth, it was bigger than her room in Terra. At least twice as big. Not that she minded having a small room back home-it was nice, cozy, and _always_ warm. Unlike this one, with its cold stone floors and big windows that let in cold (even through the thick drapes). It was bearable in the summer, but summer was long gone.

"Drat. Now I can't get up until someone comes and lights a fire."

' _ **We could always light one ourselves, you know.**_ ' Celeste spoke up (you'll learn about her later, but for now all you need to know is that she and Selene are pretty much the same person, but different at the same time. It'll all make sense by the end of the arc after the Love Triangle arc. Promise).

"True. But that'd mean getting out from the covers. And having to use wandless magic-Kaus took the wand yesterday as ransom for today's events, remember. It takes so long to get silk sheets to warm up…dang rich family and their fancy sheets. Would some nice, _warm_ , cotton be too much to ask for?"

' _ **Knowing Klaus' father, he'd leave them as silk, just to spite us. Better not complain.**_ '

"You're worse than Jiminy Cricket sometimes, you know that, right? I'm not Pinocchio, thank you."

' _ **But I'm also you. Don't forget about that.**_ '

"Ugh...no paradoxes when it's below 50 degrees fahrenheit, you here?"

A maid walked in, one who must have been newer, because Selene had made it a point to learn at least the names of the Goldstein staff. This one looked a bit confused, "Miss, who are you talking to? I'll be your maid for the duration of your stay."

Selene waved it away, "My inner elemental self. Don't worry-it's entirely normal. Now, could you maybe start a fire? It's positively frigid and I'm going to become a human ice-block if I move out from these covers. And that would be bad. I swear, my nose is already ice..."

She giggled a little bit. "Master Klaus mentioned to the staff last night that you had problems with the cold. He said for me to take this to you when you woke up." Selene noticed for the first time that the maid carried a large, furry, coat that would go down to Selene's ankles and up to her ears. One of her brother's must have sent Blayze with her favorite winter coat, the one that had been spelled by Klaus last year around this time-it'd keep her warm no matter how cold it was.

"Yes yes yes!" She exclaimed, "I'd love him for this alone! Give me give me!"

"Shouldn't you get dressed first, miss?"

"Nope." She said, pulling her arms out from beneath the blanket, reaching for the coat, "Mrs. Goldstein and Elaine have decided to spend most of today getting ready for tonight. Which also means them wanting to get me ready. Elaine said I could come in my pajamas if I wanted to." Said pajamas were a pair of thick, woolen fuzzy socks, thick fuzzy pants, and a long-sleeved flannel shirt. "So I'm going to gladly take her up on that offer. By the way, what's your name? And where's Miss Martha?" She crawled out of the covers, soon starting to shiver as the cold of the stone floor began to sink into the bottoms of her feet through her socks.

"Miss Martha's on vacation, visiting her family. Most of the usual staff are. I'm Abigail."

"Well, Abigail, it's wonderful to meet you. Are you not going to go visit your family?"

"My family all works at one of the Goldstein's vacation houses. We get called into the main house around Holidays so the usual staff here can have a break. Here." She hold the coat open and Selene gratefully shrugs into it, wrapping it around herself tightly, her shivering slowly disappearing as the coat's magic begins to activate.

Selene humms, feeling better. "Now. Where did those slippers go?"

Abigail is right there, and sets the shoes by Selene's feet. Selene grins at her and slips them on, "Thank you. You're the best."

"You flatter me, miss." Selene had long since stopped trying to correct the staff calling her "miss" it was apparently "an uphill battle in a snowstorm" according to Celeste. Celeste tended to speak only when they were by themselfs or with Klaus (he, for some reason, found it ridiculously funny to listen to Selene and Celeste talk to themselfs.).

Abigail began to lead Selen to where she'd be having breakfast with Mrs. Goldstein and Elaine (as they all were

Selene still didn't really know her way around this manor very well-it was absolutely enormous, after all, and it wasn't like she was there all the time. Of anyone, though, Elias probably knew it the best of anyone-he had often wandered to find a place where his reading or studying wouldn't be interrupted. He was Selene's unofficial map when she wanted to go exploring (she would drag him along as he complained that he needed to study and her saying "get over it you study enough as it is"). Only Elias was actually at Katalina's (his own buddy/**********) home for this holiday (he wasn't quite ready to introduce her to his parent's, especially with the way his father reacted to Selene. Yukiya and Philyra (flil-yii-ah) were with them. Luca and Marelda, on the other hand, were visiting Marelda's family. Selene had already sent (or will send )Blayze to deliver her presents for all of them to open on the morrow, along with the presents for her brothers and their families. They had all sent something back with Blayze, or had given their presents to her and Klaus before school was out, and there were two slowly growing piles in the corner of her room-she had Klaus' with her's because they were planning on opening them together the next day. Klaus had spent the first three days of Midwinter break at the academy, Klaus finishing up all the grading and prepping the itinerary for first week after break for his class ((yes, at this point in time Klaus has already graduated and is now a professor.)) Selene, on the other hand, finished in two days all of her prefect's work-she had sent Randy, her fellow prefect, and Zelia, his buddy, off to their vacation the first day-and spent that last day helping Klaus by doing the last of his packing (he had left her a detailed list of what was left) and her own, too. And making snacks for the five-hour train trip.

They reached a room and Abigail rapped lightly on a door, "I've brought Miss Selene, mi'lady."

"She may come in." That was Mrs. Goldstein. This was the ladies prep room, where they were going to eat breakfast before beginning all the fancy preparations for the event tonight. Selene was actually looking forward to it, which was unusual for her. She normally had to be forced after temper tantrums and after being caught (having run away and hidden). But, for once, she was actually willing to go through all of this "girly crap" as she not-so-fondly referred to this process as. Her sisters would be proud.

Selene walked into warm room. Mrs. Goldstein and Elaine laughed at the sight of this young woman all bundled up to cross the house. Elaine tugged on one of Selene's twin braids as she sat down. "You really don't like the cold, do you?" Selene and Klaus had gotten to the house only the previous day, and when they entered their coats and such were removed and taken (hence the reason Klaus had her coat returned to her).

"Nope. It's quite _literally_ my natural enemy. And, my room seems to retain no warmth…"

"Ah, are you in the same room that you were this summer?" Mrs. Goldstein inquired.

"Yep."

"That's one of the summer rooms, it's meant to be cooler. You should be in a winter room. I wonder why they took you to that room…anyhow, I'll have the servants move you to a winter room."

"I wonder if a certain future father-in-law of her's is responsible, hmm?" Elaine mused.

"Wait...what?" Selene coughed, choking on the warmed apple juice she had been sipping. "Just what are you implying…"

The two older woman shared a smug look.

"Nothing, nothing. I just assumed that you and Klaus would get married, eventually." Selene believed Elaine, because, after all, the two Goldstein woman often joked about her and Klaus getting married.

"If you say so…" she sighed.

They then had breakfast, Selene gladly eating three times as much as the other two (combined). The two didn't comment on this-they were used to it, unlike Mr. Goldstein, who often loudly remarked that a proper lady ate a lady's smaller portion, to which Selene would respond, "Well, I may be a two-species princess, but I'm no lady-it'd be far too boring.." and share a laughing look with Klaus, annoying his father to no end. And amusing everyone else.

After the meal (the nice, _warm_ , wonderful meal), the ladies set upon their next task-the final fittings of Selene's dress. She wasn't aloud to see it yet, and so they blindfolded her while they marked adjustments. After sending it off with a maid and letting Selene get redressed (she wasn't aloud to wear her pj's anymore, and so she wore a change of clothes another maid had brought from her room, a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt). Then, they moved on to "beauty treatments," or, in other words, _hours_ of spa-like things. Turns out, the two married, adult woman liked to do things like give each other mani-pedis and do each other's hair and makeup-and they were the equivalent of wealthy noblewoman.

The most surprising things was that Selene actively took part. She did the nailpolish of both older woman (Elaine's was pale pink, Mrs. Goldstein's was dark emerald-green, like her eyes), and brushed out their hair for them. Elaine painted Selene's nails, and the coloring gave Selene a hint of what her dress was to be-the base color was a silvery color, like Selene's normal eye coloring, and there was a layer of fine golden sparkles over the top. It was pretty, though Selene knew it'd be chipped by the next day.

-Going to skip on the rest of this because I don't want to focus on this all that much…-

It was time for the dinner. Before going, Selene had changed into a nice violet skirt with thick white winter leggings and a matching blouse under a creamy white sweater. There were also a pair of black fingerless gloves hidden (read: shoved) in the fancy (thankfully heelless) boots she was wearing. The entire outfit was one of the ones her sisters had given her last time she had visited home. Unlike the ball that would be taking place soon after, this dinner was only for the Goldstein family and their closest friends. Cynthia's family (you'll learn about her later too ;) wasn't there-they were visiting relatives in another part of the country-much to Selene's relief. The servants sat her at the opposite end of the table from Klaus, the second to last seat on that side of the table. At the head of the table was Mr. Goldstein, with his wife on his left and his eldest son on his right, and Elaine next to him. Klaus was on the other side of his mother. From then on down, on both sides, were people whom Selene knew none of, save for the face or two she somewhat recognized. The last seat on both sides of the table was empty, so on her right was a guy maybe a year or so older than Selene, with dark hair swept back dramatically, revealing a widow's peak. In fact, if it weren't from the semi-tanned skin, he'd look positively vampiric-and Selene would know, she had met several of them, and some of them were actually pretty nice (and no, they don't drink human blood unless they're one of the dangerous, often crazed, rogues). But he kept giving her glances out of the corner of his eye, and it gave Selene goosebumps. The girl across from her was silent and seemed as if she wanted to go hide.

Selene kept sneaking glances at her boyfriend at the opposite corner of the table, not really paying attention to the chatter of the people at the table-she didn't know them, so why should she care about the trivial things they were conversing about? He caught her eye and smirked his signature smirk. She grinned back, and then stuck out her tongue playfully, making him chuckle.

Soon after, a servant came in and announced that dinner would be ready within a few minutes. Selene was so happy at that, she sat up and sat on the edge of her chair. Klaus almost imperceptibly snickered at the sight of his girlfriend-food was her "favorite" as she always said. (Sometimes when he complained that she loved food more than him, she flicked some of whatever she was eating at him and asked just how jealous could he get, to get jealous of _food_. It had become an inside joke of there's.)

The guy next to Selene set his hand on her knee, and she slyly grabbed a tender part of it between two of her nails and moved it off with a flick of her wrist without looking down. The guys clearly got the message and scooted away from her a bit, rubbing his hand. She gave him one of her "touch-me-again-and-you'll-burn-in-a-fire-that-would-make-the-devil-weep-in-pain" looks (no one but the vampire-looking dude and Klaus noticed). Klaus then knew it was time to put his idea into action. Kissing his mother on the cheek and saying he'd see her later, he promptly got up and walked down the row and around the other end of the table, taking the empty seat next to Selene-not even caring about the murderous look his father gave him.

Selene's face lit up as her boyfriend pecked her on the cheek. " _Might I ask why you're here?_ " She switched over to english, as Klaus was the only other one here who knew it. " _Are you trying to annoy your father or something?_ "

" _Am I not aloud to sit next to my woman? If my woman isn't allowed to sit up with me up there, I must go sit with her here. It has nothing to do with my father, dearest._ " He smirked as she shivered.

" _How often must I tell you not to call me that? It's weird._ "

" _Would you prefer I call you shorty?_ "

" _Only if I may refer to you as His Rudeness_." She snorted, remembering her old nickname. " _You must admit, they bring up memories_."

" _They do. I remember the little girl in twin braids bouncing in the seat as we pulled up to the Academy. Well, I don't really have to remember her that hard, I saw her only yesterday, after all._ " he teased.

She stuck her tongue out at him, " _At least I didn't need help getting little braids out of my hair._ "

" _You put them in, you get to take them out_."

" _You keep thinking that, bub, because I already know you couldn't do it without help._ "

He was about to respond when servants came in with platters of _warm_ food and Selene got distracted, so he ended up not saying anything, content to watch his lover be happy. The plates were set down. After Mr. Goldstein took a bite, everyone else began to eat, complimenting it. Selene, however, took a bite and turned a shade of green. She pretended to cough into her napkin, but was really spitting out the food. It was fish. Selene was unable to eat any sort of seafood-that was the food water types prefered. Fire types, like her, couldn't eat it at all. If she had any, it made her violently ill. Klaus noticed immediately and took a bite of his own food. " _I can't believe this-he knew it made you sick!_ " Klaus muttered, annoyed with his father.

Selene touched his arm, a gentle smile on her lips, " _Don't let it get to you-I'd bet he wants that reaction. Let's try to not make him like me less than he already does. If anything, I can have a maid bring me something before I get dressed._ " This was one of those rare times where it was Klaus who was being calmed down instead of Selene. Ever since her first wand broke, and Celeste had come into the picture, Selene had become better at managing her temper and powers, once she had figured out how to live in harmony with her elemental self. " _You can eat though. It wouldn't do for two of us to have to wait and eat, and it'll mean there's less food wasted-and you know my opinion on unnecessarily wasting food._ "

" _If you say so, dearest._ " And he proceeded to eat and talk to Selene. Somehow, his food managed to disappear off his plate faster than anyone else at the table without it looking anything but graceful. That was one skill Selene almost wished she had.

After dinner, the woman all left to go prepare themselves in their separate rooms (the dinner guests were spending the night at the Goldstein estate), and the three woman who had been together earlier went to the ladies prep room once again. Selene wore a shift-type garment as Mrs. Goldstein and Elaine were putting makeup all over her face-after she had a plate of food (that she scarfed down), of course. She wasn't quite sure what they were doing, but there was most definitely a lot silver glitter around her eyes and on her temples. As soon as they were done with her hair (which was up in a fancy twist held up with delicate golden butterfly hairclip with strands falling down here and there to make it look completely natural), they went off to go do their own makeup and get dressed. A maid came in with a dress in a dress-bag thing.

Clearly, this dress was to difficult for a person to put on oneself, and so the maid, named Nara, helped Selene get dressed. There was a corset, which Selene loathed, but since it was looser, she didn't really complain that much about it, more than a "Oh _great_. It's one of _those_ things…" The dress, though, made Selene gasp. It was gorgeous. It was a shimmery silver at the top, and at the waist down, golden swirls, like ink dripped into water, began, and pooled at the bottom hem. It was form-fitting (and looked quite wonderful one her, one might add) until the waist, where the skirt flowed out in an almost Victorian style. The sleeves were tight (as in just not loose) until the elbow, and fluttered out in a beautiful draping sleeve. The neckline went to just below her collarbone and was wide, almost seeming to hang, in a way, on the edges of her shoulders (but, as Selene requested, there was no danger of it falling down). Selene twirled around a bit, feeling like a nymph, in her bare feet. There were three-inch silver heels that went with the dress (which, for once, made her happy-she had grown an inch this past year, and with the help of the heels, she'd only be two and a half inches shorter than Klaus, at least for a little bit.

The two woman came back, fully dressed and ready. Elaine was wearing a lovely pale pink gown that made her eyes pop and enforced the image of a proper little princess. Mrs. Goldstein, however, looked like a queen in a deep emerald-green gown. Both dresses had beautiful golden embroidery.

"You both look wonderful…" Selene smiled, and had a short-lived feeling of insecurity at the sight of the two woman. She felt like a little girl playing dress-up compared to them.

"Have you seen yourself, dear? Come look." Mrs. Goldstein signaled the maid, who pulled aside a curtain that Selene had assumed conceal a window. In truth, there was a full-length mirror there. They waved a hand at her, encouraging her to go look.

When Selene stepped in front of it she gasped, "I know this is cliche...but...is this really...me?" The woman, yes, a woman, in the mirror seemed almost like an Actaea, a rare type of fairy said to almost be the equivalent of royalty-the beauty of these rare, elusive creatures was said to drive those who had managed to catch a glimpse of them go mad with trying to see it again, just once more. But even seeing a simple glimpse was nearly unheard of.

"It sure is. Mother and I were so excited to be able to do this-we want to see Klaus' face when he sees you first, though. It's bound to be the funniest face we've ever seen on him. Lovesick puppy is my guess." Elaine giggled.

"I think it'll be more like a country boy seeing the palace for the first time." Mrs. Goldstein smiled, "But we do have an ulterior motive for all of this. You'll figure it out later."

"I think I look less like myself than I did on Halloween…" Selene was transfixed on this image.

"Wait, what were you dressed up as?" Elaine asked.

"Elias." The two older woman burst into giggles. "It really worked, too! The only one who knew was Elias, because, just to be polite, I asked him first. Not even Klaus figured it out until the party when I pulled Elias over and told him. It was the best prank yet, and possibly ever. Until it was ruined and…" She flushed and changed the subject, "But this dress! It must have cost a small fortune! And that's not even counting the embroidery!" Selene exclaimed.

"Not really. Mother and I helped with the embroidery, and our seamstress was glad for the challenge. Usually, nothing more difficult than what the two of us are wearing is what she makes. And when she heard the reason…"

Mrs. Goldstein shushed her, "Don't ruin it! Come on now, let's get our shoes on and go. The announcements will be starting soon-and I'm first, as lady of the household."

"And I'm second since my husband is the heir. You're last out of spite. Father thought by that point everyone would be impatient and just want to get it over with-but now, it's just saving the best for last."

"Alright. We better hurry lest we're late…"

So Selene bent down carefully and slid her shoes on, and ran on tiptoes for a few seconds before catching up with the two woman and the maid. They went into a small room near the place where they would go down the wide ballroom stairs when they were announced, which was soon after they got there for Mrs. Goldstein. Elaine soon followed, saying, "The maid will come get you when the person before you is being announced."

Selene had only been in the ballroom once, the last time she was here. It was at two in the morning of the last night she was there, and she couldn't sleep. She went wandering, trying to find the kitchens so she could get a drink, and ran into Klaus, who was apparently doing the same thing (as it turns out-Klaus often woke up at one/two o'clock to get a drink. Usually, when Selene woke up at about the same time (which was any night she didn't fall right asleep from exhaustion), she just layed there with her eyes closed, or stared at the ceiling. But that night, she felt that she should get up. So she did. And after they both had a glass of apple juice, Klaus said he wanted to show her something-and led her to the ballroom.

The barefooted Selene, wide-eyed, spun around in the room, which was beautiful in the moonlight. Klaus smiled at his girlfriend, who looked enchanted. "Might I have this dance, dearest?" He bowed a little bit and held out his hand.

She laughed and put her hand in his, "Only if you promise to stop calling me that, mi'lord."

And so they danced around the large, ornate, and empty ballroom, in bare feet and pajamas, to a dream-like tune only they could here. Celeste gave a happy sigh-it was her favorite memory.

Selene's memories were interrupted when the maid entered the room, "It's time, miss." Selene stood up from where she had been perched on the edge of a chair, "Coming, coming."

…. …. ….

Klaus was standing with his older brother, Percival, off to the side (Elaine is over with Mrs. Goldstein, speaking in whispers and giggling), fiddling with something hidden in the coat pocket of his fancy silvery-grey suit. About half of the attenders have been announced, and with each one, he grows more nervous. One can tell by how his face keeps becoming more and more like stone. Percival nudges his younger brother, "What's wrong? You look like you've seen Medusa among our guests, you're so stiff." Klaus jumped a bit when his brother touched his arm.

He sighed. "I can't help it. I don't think I've been more nervous in my life-and that's really saying something." He shook his head, "I've gone head to head with inhuman guards, met her family, dealt with father, and discovered that I'm dating someone who has royal blood from two different species-none of it compares to what I'm going through right now. How did you do it, Percy, how? How did you do it and not die of a heart attack?"

Percy laughed. He liked to think he wasn't this bad before he did it himself, all those many years ago. "Do you love her?"

Klaus looked at his brother, "With every speck of my being and soul."

"Then keep that in mind. That's all you can do."

Klaus was silent, a completely new look on his face. He wasn't paying attention to Percival anymore-all of his attention was at the stairs. " _And last, but most certainly not least,_ " the announcer began, " _we welcome Miss Selene Celeste Fonix to the Goldstein's Midwinter Ball._ " The whole room was silent as a woman in a silvery and golden dress almost seemed to float down the stairs, and what ethereal creature she was-her glittering face behind the mask was a rosy red (a red that reached her ears, not that anyone was paying attention). It wasn't until she stumbled ever so slightly at the bottom of the stairs that the stillness spell over the occupants of the room broke. People started to whisper, most of them having never heard of this woman, or not being able to recall where they had heard the name.

Klaus, on the other hand, was still spellbound as he slowly made his way through the crowd. The musicians started up a waltz, and one of the younger men had approached Selene, but she paid him no heed as she spotted Klaus, "Sorry. I've got to go." She apologized without looking back at the poor guy. She smirked as Klaus stood in front of her, completely and utterly enthralled to the point of silence. "Like what you see, _dearest_?" She teased. Klaus blinked and shook his head slightly.

" _I do, my darling, very much so. I hardly believed it was my Selene coming down those stairs. This is probably the most astounding transformation you've made-and you've turned yourself into a dog and an exact copy of my younger brother._ "

She laughed at this, "I said the same thing. For a moment I thought you wouldn't know it was me, but then I remembered that the entrance was to be announced."

"Well, dearest," Klaus bowed slightly and held out his hand, much like he had on the other night they had been together in this room, "might I have this dance?"

She put her hand in his, "Yes. You can have this dance, and every single one after."

…. …. ….

Mr. Goldstein watched from afar as his second son danced with that girl. Even he had to admit that she looked like something unhuman, something not really meant for mortal eyes. Klaus spun her around and her clear laughter rang out. The two young adults danced around the room, completely absorbed in each other. They talked in that foreign language of hers, laughing and smiling. He had never seen his son this relaxed, this...happy.

"They're perfect for each other, dear. Absolutely perfect." He turned to his wife, his beloved wife. "You must stop denying it, it won't do anything but drive him further away from you. He'd give her this world, the next world, and every other world in between. This love of his is true."

"He's young. How does he know what true love is? This...severe infatuation of his will be his ruin. He's only know the blasted girl a mere year." But at this point, they were just empty words-he could no longer believe his own words.

"He may be young, but he of all people knows. Perhaps it started out as an infatuation-but that infatuation was strong enough to go through several powerful refiner's fires within a year of him knowing her. After the first fire, it became love. And with every fire after that, it just became stronger and stronger. There are things that the both of them have suffered through that neither of us could ever imagine. You need to accept that or you'll end up losing him completely."

And he had. He didn't quite know when, but at some point he had. It just took until now to realize it, and he sighed, "I guess I'll have to then." He looks at the dancing couple again, "He does look happier than I've ever seen him."

"You know, he's planning to do something tonight. It's why Elaine and I worked so hard to make her as pretty as she could be. A girl should feel special on a night like this." His wife sighed, looking dreamy.

"You don't mean he plans to…"

"Yes, dear. He does."

…. …. ….

The two danced for what felt like a forever-and loved every moment of it. "I almost feel like _Cinderella_." Selene had said at one point, then explained the story to Klaus. "But don't worry, I've no need to disappear at midnight. I'm a wizardess, and the time limit on my magic is nonexistent."

"I never worried. I'm not like that foolish prince-I'll never let you get away."

They conversed and danced, and Selene felt like it was a dream. A wonderful, wonderful dream. She knew that this was one dream that didn't have to end-she knew, in the very depths of her heart and soul, that they'd always been together. This was no teenage infatuation. This was a love of the strongest kind, one that had survived countless refiners' fires.

At one point, Selene mentioned that her feet were hurting and they should sit down and take a break. Instead, Klaus led her out of the room. Once the door had shut behind them, he swept her up in his arms. She giggled, "Thanks. I can only stand heels for so long-and I've long since past my record."

"You're welcome. I'm surprised you didn't kick them off and send them flying a while ago." He chuckled.

"I didn't for two reasons-one, I didn't want them to stab and kill anybody, and two, I was almost as tall as you with them!"

"You're very proud of that, aren't you?"

"Yep! It's not my fault you're a giant."

"You're just my little shortie." he smirked, amused, "Besides, I think I like you better without them. You fit just perfectly under my chin."

"Well sometimes I want to be able to look you in the eyes without looking to the sky." she smiled and leaned her head into his chest. "You're going to be all sparkly after this. Because you do realized I'm covered in them? Sparkles can be murderous to wash out."

"All it takes is a spell, or did you forget we're wizards?"

"Oh yeah…" She looked up at them, "where are we going, by the way?" They were heading up a second set of stairs. "And aren't I heavy?"

"Heavy? Seriously, I don't know how you eat more than all seven of your brothers combined and still weigh no more than a pillow. As for where we're going, there's a special place I want to show you. It's my favorite place in the house." mentally he added, ' _And it's about to become even more special._ '

"I don't know how I do it...for some reason I just seem to _burn_ through all the food." she giggled at her joke, "I'm just a special child~."

"Not a child so much anymore."

"I believe that everyone is a child at heart, no matter how deep down-we've been over this." She grinned and poked his cheek, making him turn and lightly nip at it. She pulled back, holding the offended finger and stuck her tongue out at him. "See, that was your inner child showing through~!"

He set her down and opened the door in front of them. Selene walked in and gasped. They were in some sort of domed glass observatory. The ceiling was completely made of glass and the sky was clear of all clouds-the stars shown brightly, no lights to hide them. The room was warm, too, so Selene was thrilled. "Oh, this is just lovely, perfectly wonderful…" She spun around once, arms flung out, facing the heavens and laughing. Klaus walked in and shut the door behind him

"I brought you here for a reason. Selene," Klaus took a deep breath, "I love you."

Selene stopped spinning and looked at him, "I know that, silly. I love you, too. So, so much." Her giddy mood became a little more serious as she noticed that Klaus was speaking seriously.

"I love you to no end, Selene. I want to give you anything and everything. So I'm asking," he got pulled a small something out of his pocket and got down on one knee, facing Selene, with the most earnest and loving face Selene had ever seen him wear. "Will you marry me?"

Selene was stunned into silence. In his hand was a little ring box with a thin silver band that had a moonstone-one of Selene's birthstones-in place of a diamond. "We don't have to get married right away, either. I will wait as long as it takes for you to be ready." He looked down, biting his lip, "And you of all people know how impatient I can be. I love you more than enough to wait eternity."

Tears had begun to slowly slide down her cheeks, "Oh...Klaus...oh my...yes! Yes! Infinitely yes!"

And the moment he had slid the ring on her finger, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him-which surprised him. She normally wasn't the one doing the kissing.

And after they were gone awhile, his father noticed their absence and groaned into his hands-still not entirely ready to let his son go-as his wife patted him on the back and said, "It's the perfect night for it, dear. Don't worry, I bet they won't actually _get_ married until after she graduates, so you have about two years."

* * *

To see a picture of the ring, use this link:

www. etsy .com /listing/178994223/simple-faceted-moonstone-ring-sterling

Just erase the spaces between the words first...

* * *

And I just want to say Merry Christmas to all of you, readers. You guys really are important and I want to thank you for all of your support. Make sure you guys enjoy this special holiday with the people who matter most to you, okay?


	27. New Year's Special

Sybbie: Yeah, Elias in the actual game defers to his brother a little too much. I've kind of made it to where he takes a leaf out of Selene's book when dealing with Klaus-after all, if she can so easily stand up to Klaus, why can't he?

Deadly8rose123: At that point in the story, it's over a year after the current point in the actual storyline. He meets her brothers briefly some point soon after the second major arc, and then more fully a bit later on. It'll get there eventually…and this spin-off takes place about a week after the Midwinter's one.

* * *

Note: the all OCs in this will eventually come into my story. Y'all will just have to wait for them.

I had the idea for this spin off around three o'clock the Monday before Christmas, and typed it up over the next few days. Enjoy!

* * *

New Years Special

Third Person POV

All of the girls were gathered in Selene's dorm room-the room for female prefects-on the evening before New Years Eve. Well, Selene hadn't quite arrived yet. Her and Klaus were still coming back, but Selene had sent Klaus' familiar on ahead with a note saying they should be back in about three hours-and that was just under three hours ago. Katalina (x Elias), Philyra (pronounced fli-I-ra) (x Yukiya), Marelda (x Luca), and Zelia (x Serge) were talking about Midwinter and what they should do for New Years as they waited for the oldest member of their circle for friends. Their buddies were back at the teachers dorm waiting for Klaus-though they had to wait in the hall because Klaus didn't trust them enough to give them a key-besides, a professor giving a key to his dorm room to students wasn't a good idea, though the female prefect was special and was gifted with a key. The boys all seemed to know something about the professor and his girlfriend and wouldn't tell the girls about it. They were just _burning_ with curiosity.

They heard a key turn in the lock and a bundle of clothing fell into the room and started rolling around, shouting, "Warmth! Warmth!" while it's suitcase lay forgotten in the hall.

All four of the girls giggled as they watched their cold-"intolerant" (what a severe understatement, that is) friend began yanking off the layers upon layers of cold-resistant clothing. When she stripped down to a red sweater and jean and a single pair of fuzzy socks, she flopped onto her bed, belly down, nearly knocking off the two girls who had been sitting on it. "Ishshogootabhmmmm!"

"We can tell you're excited to be back and all, but you've left a mess!" Zelia, the next oldest at 17 (Selene had turned 18 recently, as her birthday was, ironically, the winter solstice), laughed, her long, bright blue hair falling out if it's loose braid as she shook her head and rocked back in forth (as she tends to do as she laughs) on the chair that sat between the two beds in the room.

"Fiiiiiiine…" Selene flipped onto her back and waved her hand, summoning her wand, her second one (the first one was snapped over a year ago), the coloring of which was silver and gold swirling around on another, with bronze veins peeking through here and there. It flew into her hand and she waved it lazily, "Wind, do your thing!"

And all of a sudden her suitcase unzipped. For a few minutes clothing zipped around the room. About half of it flew into a hamper in a corner and the other half hung themselves up or folded themselves and put themselves in the proper drawers.

"Woah…" the other girls went.

"Woah is right. It took me over half a year to be able to control the wind that well. And it was half a year well spent-I hate having to pack and unpack. The magic does a better job at it anyway." Selene sighed, propping herself up on her elbows, "How are all of you, girls? How was Midwinter? What did you guys get? Who made out with their boyfriends? Besides Zelia on that last part. There's no question she did. But what about the rest of you?" All the girls burst into laughter at their friend's antics. She sounded almost like she hadn't seen them in months.

"Why so eager to know? We saw you a week ago, for crying in a bucket!" Marelda snorted, shaking her head and causing her short, fiery red hair to bounce.

"Hey! That's my saying, thief!" Selene sniffed, folding her arms and looking off to the side, "And besides, a lot can happen in a week!"

"Then what happened in yours?" Katalina inquired.

Selene bit her lip and squirmed in her seat, turning red, "Well...uh...ummm…"

"So you want us to kiss and tell, but you yourself won't?" Marelda teased.

Philyra, the youngest member of the group at a younger 15, with her sea green (left eye) and stormy grey (right) eyes sparkling, got up from her spot where she was sitting at Zelia's feet, petting Blayze (who had arrived a while before Selene), and climbed on the bed, grabbing Selene's left hand and raising it up for everyone to see. The other three gasped at the glittering moonstone gem attached to a silver ring. "Does it have something to do with this?" Philyra said in her quiet, lullaby voice.

"Is that...is that an engagement ring?!" Katalina's jaw had dropped a good deal. Selene looked down, entire face on (not-literal, you can never be too sure in Selene's case) fire, and nodded.

"Congratulations!" Zelia had lunged from her seat and gave Selene a big hug, squealing.

"When did he…?" Katalina seemed awed by the simple ring. Then turned red as she imagined an older Elias asking her. Her friends could guess exactly where her train of thought had gone, and they all giggled.

"Midwinter's Eve. He took me to the observatory-this beautiful room that's opened to the sky because the ceiling and most of the walls are made of enchanted glass-when the annual Goldstein ball was over, and then, after another confession-the sweetest one I've ever heard-he asked me to marry him. He said he'd wait to actually get married until I was ready, and I said yes!"

Katalina and Zelia squealed, Marelda grinned, and Philyra smiled shyly, like she always did. Selene fell back onto her bed, her legs from her knees down hanging off the edge of the bed, and sighed dreamily. "I think we're going to wait at least until after I graduate, because that'd be the easiest. And just to let you guys know, you're four of my five bridesmaids if you say yes…"

They all immediately agreed. The fifth would be Amelia, who was visiting her home with her own boyfriend (who's name will not be mentioned at this time because it will spoil too much of the actual story), and none of them doubted in the slightest that she'd freak when she came home and possibly pass out from excitement (it had happened once or twice before, to be honest…).

The five talked about their breaks and what they had all done, and about all the other girly-talk blah blah blah…

At some point, Katalina brought up the idea for having a New Years Party with everyone.

"I mean, it'd really just be for all of us and our buddies, you know? For the most part, we're the only ones left in the academy, the place is pretty deserted. It'd be fun!" Katalina finished. Everyone agreed.

"You know, there is a tradition for couples on New Years back in Terra." Selene said.

"Really? What is is?" Zelia asked.

"I don't know if it's the same here, but people will countdown the last few seconds-my brothers and I always counted down from ten-and once the bells ring midnight, couples will kiss. It's supposed to signify renewed strength in a relationship for the new year, but some people will just use it as an excuse to make out." She gave Zelia a teasing look and they all laughed.

"That is a pretty good excuse to do so, you all have to admit." Zelia smiled and shrugged innocently.

Marelda rolled her eyes, "Like you and Serge need an excuse. You'll just do it whenever, wherever, just to do so. You two are so shameless…" She shook her head.

"I don't think it's shameless so much as they're so busy with each other that they don't notice anyone else is there…" Philyra giggled. Her giggles sounded like the soft tinkling of little bells.

"True." Selene agreed. "Anyway, baaaack to what I was saying-my idea is that we shock our boyfriends a bit and…" She relayed her idea. After a while, everyone agreed, even though a few were a bit too embarrassed to do it right away. "But we all have to do it at the same time,or it won't work, agreed?"

"Agreed." They chorused.

…. …. …. (The next evening, about five to midnight)

They were using the common room in the boys' dorm, because it was smaller than the one in the girls' dorm (the one is the girls' dorm was positively _huge_ , and the one in this dorm was the right size for their little party. Zelia had conjured a magical clock about an hour 'til midnight, to count down the time until. They had pushed a lot of the furniture against the walls, making room for the ten people there to walk around. There was a table off to the side full of simply scrumptious food made my Selene, Yukiya, and Katalina. During this party, which had started around eight pm, various people performed as entertainment-Elias and Katalina had done a duet on the violin and piano, Selene and Philyra sung a few songs each, Selene had taught everyone (well, everyone who she could get to participate, which was everyone but Philyra and Yukiya, Yukiya mostly because she wasn't) how to the dance to Cotton-Eyed Joe and the Macarena, and had also set up some magic firework-like things her brothers had sent her that would go off and send golden sparks and stars into the air when it hit midnight, but other than those, Selene connected her phone to a portable speaker and had a mixture of Terran Christmas songs and other songs playing, allowing people to dance when they chose and whatnot.

At the current time, everyone was just waiting for the change of the hour. Yukiya and Philyra were snuggled together on one of the couches, Elias, Katalina, Luca, and Marelda were playing a card game while Zelia sat on Serge's lap, giggling and dramatically commentating the game while the others (and herself) tried not to laugh at her to much. Selene and Klaus were dancing to a waltz-like song and talking. When there was one minute left, Selene called out, "Positions people!"

Katalina and Marelda put their cards down, Zelia shifted positions on Serge's lap, Philyra rotated a bit, and Selene cut of her dancing with Klaus. They looked at the glowing magical clock in the center of the room. The girls (along with Serge and Luca) started counting down with it when it reached ten seconds left.

Ten...

Nine…

Eight…

Seven…a giggling Zelia wrapped her arms around Serge's neck

Six…Philyra and Katalina both took a deep breath and released it

Five…Philyra took Yukiya's face between her hands

Four…Marelda grabbed Luca's shoulders

Three…Katalina leaned towards Elias

Two…Selene wrapped her hand around Klaus' tie

One…

Philyra gently kissed Yukiya, Katalina pecked Elias on the lips, well, it was a little longer than a peck, Marelda pulled Luca in and pressed her lips against his, Selene yanked Klaus by his tie toward her and kissed him deeply, and Zelia and Serge were making out within a few seconds.

All of the boys (except Serge, who was _busy_ ) blushed. Then Klaus smirked, Luca grinned, Yukiya gently smiled, and Elias looked panicked, unsure of what to do.

Selene's cheesey-smile was wide, "I thought it'd be fun to reenact our first kiss, so I did." Upon hearing this, Yukiya, Elias, and Luca (mostly Luca) snorted-they remembered that instance all too well.

"How bold. But that wasn't enough, you know." Luca whispered in Marelda's ear, making her flush and quickly back away, shouting "pervert!" Luca play-pouted, "But you were the one who invited me…" he whined.

Yukiya wrapped his arms around Philyra, and they sat cuddled together-they didn't need to speak to understand one another.

Elias and Katalina were smiling at each other, both blushing madly, like the innocent little couple they were.

And you already know what Serge and Zelia were doing, reader, because if you don't-I apologize in advance for this-you are an utter moron.

Selene glanced at the fervently kissing couple and playfully groaned, " _Ugh_..just get a _room_ , you two!"

A smiling Serge pulled back for a second, much to the fleeting disappointment of Zelia, and scooped her up into his arms, standing up. "Okie-dokie!" He then began to quickly carry a giggling Zelia off.

Selene ran after them laughing, "Serge, I wasn't being serious! Come back!" Klaus chuckled and shook his head as he watched.

"And she tells _me_ to be careful with my words…" everyone else in the room sniggered.

…. …. ….

After getting Serge to come back with Zelia, the party continued for at least another hour and a half. By two o'clock, Philyra and Katalina had fallen asleep. All five of the guys were still awake, and so were the other three girls.

And somehow, Selene was acting very drunk.

Elias looked over at where his brother was trying to get his girlfriend to sit still for more than five seconds. For the past half hour, Selene had been dancing around the room, giggling. She hadn't been like that in over a year, ever since they found out…

"What's with Selene?" Luca was snickering at the scene. Klaus rarely looked like this-flustered and irritated.

"I think she's drunk again. It's happened once or twice, and always on accident." Elias sighed.

"There's no alcohol here. Only Klaus and Serge are really old enough to have any, anyway." Zelia's shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter.

Serge piped up, "The chocolates I brought were sent to me from the shop my grandmother used to run. They have a bit of alcohol in the filling...but not enough to make someone even mildly drunk unless they've eaten a few entire boxes."

Klaus gave up on trying to get Selene to sit still and let her twirl around room giggling again. He had overheard Serge and came over and smacked him upside the head (not hard enough to really hurt). "Moron! Selene gets drunk on less that a tablespoon of alcohol-and she had at least nine or ten of those chocolates!" The irk mark on his forehead was almost visible.

"Are you kidding me…?" Luca snorted, "How is that even possible...?"

"You do know she's a halfling right? Well the half that's not human has zero tolerance to human alcohol-it makes them really sick. It's only because she's half human that she has any tolerance at all!" Klaus sighed aggravatedly, "And now I have to deal with _her_ in this state…!" he mumbled.

"What's wrong with this? She looks like she's having fun." Marelda commented.

"She won't even remember it in the morning. She never does." Philyra yawned, having woken up and was rubbing her eyes. She then leaned back into Yukiya's chest, content to stay where she was and fall back asleep. Katalina was curled up on the other end of the couch with Elias' jacket over her. That girl could sleep through a hurricane, which was a good equivalent to amount of noise Selene was now making.

"Then maybe you can try getting her to calm down without getting…" he coughed as Selene appeared behind him and threw her arms around his neck unexpectedly, making him stumble backwards a bit.

"Klaus!" She squealed, "It's yooooou!" She giggled and gave him a big smooch on the cheek. Elias snickered because his older brother looked unsure of just what to do, which was something that rarely ever happened.

Big mistake.

She then noticed Elias, and her eyes widened as she noticed him and gasped, then squealed, letting go of Klaus and flying at Elias. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed her cheek against him, spinning him around and cooing: "Mini Klaus! Mini Klaus! Yaaaaaaaay!" Elias was now the one who was panicking, red-faced and flustered.

"Selene! Get off!" Elias pulled vainly at her arms. Even Klaus found this funny, and laughed along with everyone else. She noticed Zelia next, letting go of poor Eli and grabbing their hands, pulling her to the center of the dance floor, "Dance with me guys! Hehe!" and proceeding to quickly spin Zelia around, both girls giggling. Klaus facepalmed.

Selene started dancing a jig to the song that had just come on, waving her hands in the air and giggling.

"She's a very giggly drunk, isn't she?"Serge laughed, not even attempting to stifle it.

 _Crash!_

"This is why we can't have nice things…" Klaus sighed and flicked his wand, repairing the vase Selene had just knocked over ("Oppsie!") and sending it back up to where it was previously. He walked over to her and threw her over his shoulder, "Time for bed Selene."

She squirmed, "But I wanna dance...!" she whined, then giggled again. Klaus just sighed again and started carrying her over to the coats. He set her down and kept her from running back to the empty space in the middle of the room with one arm. He flicked his wand and all of her snow and warmth gear wrapped itself around her in a way where she could no longer move, arms pinned to her side and legs wound together, like a kid playing worm. She wiggled and squirmed as Klaus pulled on his coat and threw her over his shoulder again. "Good night every one. Serge, make sure everything gets cleaned up, since the other prefect is currently indisposed."

"Yes sir!" Serge playfully saluted Klaus.

"Bye-bye every perrrrrrson!" Selene giggled as she was carried out of the room.

Everyone either laughed or smiled as they left. Katalina sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What'd I miss…?" She looked hopelessly confused as she saw everyone laughing. At her question, they all laughed harder, baffling her even more.

"Nothing, nothing, dear." Elias waved it off, "Just your future sister-in-law being a bit more goofy than usual."

"Future sister-in-law…? Wait…wha..?" She then flushed red as she realized what her boyfriend had just implied.

Philyra smiled, still snuggled up with Yukiya. She had some really great friends.

* * *

It took me over half an hour to type up the scene with the drunk Selene...I kept giggling so hard I couldn't type…

The reason she's like that with alcohol with make sense later in the story, pinky promise!


	28. Chapter 23

Hey guys! Here's another chapter of the _actual_ story! Hopefully, I'll be able to revert back to one posting a week before too long. I didn't get to type as much as I would have like over the break…

How'd y'all like those two special chapters? I had a lot of fun making those. :)

Sybbie: Thanks! I kind of want to go off the angle of Elias always being tired of being compared to his brothers, and therefore does gain his own personality and own personal strengths. He does look up to Selene like a big sister even though she teases him a lot (though her teasing is a lot more like teasing teasing than Klaus-type teasing) because at the end of the day she's a good friend to him.

Yeah, what I said at the end of the New Years Special was very true-I kept laughing so hard when I wrote it that it took me much longer to write than it should have and earned a good deal of "Shut Up!"s from my family…

And thank you again! Characters are always my favorite part of a story, so I work really hard on that. Characters and their voice and emotions and such are always the best parts of my writing, I make it a point to study how people work, and it makes up for my not-so-great transitions of action and imagery, at least, I like to think it does.

* * *

And I'm sorry for posting so late today! It's been a busy day, first day back from winter break and all, that coupled with my first drivers Ed class…equals no time for the next three weeks I'll probably get very little typing done…sorry

Note: For some reason, new comments aren't showing up when I click to open the reviews. The last two aren't showing up, though they are being counted in the total number. I've sent an email to the help support people so hopefully they'll fix it soon and I won't have to read reviews through the automated emails...because those only show a certain amount of words, and if I get a long one I won't be able to read it...I hope this is fixed soon...

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Chapter 23

After a good day and a half studying, and a full night's sleep, I was feeling perfectly ready to face the Monday. Day 6 of my trial. Where had the past week gone?

Sunday evening, Elias had come to me asking for help with a fire spell that was giving him a hard time. I took the time to not only help him with that (his problem was he needed to think a bit more creatively, as fire is an ever-changing force), but to ask him what Klaus' favorite treat was.

Brownies. Simple though they may seem, it takes skill to get them just right, to have them come out perfectly. Plus, to be able to reheat them perfectly to make them seem like they just came out of the oven was something that took a lot of practice, but I have practiced a lot in the past.

Elias asked why I wanted to know, and I told him briefly about that fight Klaus and I had on Friday, and how it was because my grades in certain areas weren't so decent in some areas. Therefore, I was going to apologize with baked goods, along with a heck load of studying. He just nodded and thanked me for the help before leaving again.

Now, it was morning. I had already showered and gotten dressed and such, and now I was in the dorm's student section in the kitchens. I was singing along softly to Hello by Adele. I think it was appropriate since these were meant as an apology, even in it was an apology about poor grades, not breaking a heart.*

 _"Hello, it's me_

 _I was wondering if after all these years_

 _you'd like to meet_

 _To go over everything_

 _They say that time's supposed to heal ya,_

 _but I ain't done much healing_

 _Hello, can you hear me?_

 _I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be_

 _When we were younger and free_

 _I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet_

 _There's such a difference between us_

 _And a million miles_

 _Hello from the other side_

 _I must've called a thousand times_

 _To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done_

 _But when I call you never seem to be home_

 _Hello from the outside_

 _At least I can say that I've tried_

 _To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart_

 _But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart_

 _Anymore_

 _Hello, how are you?_

 _It's so typical of me to talk about myself, I'm sorry_

 _I hope that you're well_

 _Did you ever make it out of that town_

 _where nothing ever happened?_

 _It's no secret that the both of us_

 _Are running out of time_

 _So hello from the other side_

 _I must've called a thousand times_

 _To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done_

 _But when I call you never seem to be home_

 _Hello from the outside_

 _At least I can say that I've tried_

 _To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart_

 _But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart_

 _Anymore, ooooohh_

 _Anymore, ooooohh_

 _Anymore, ooooohh_

 _Anymore, anymore_

 _Hello from the other side_

 _I must've called a thousand times_

 _To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done_

 _But when I call you never seem to be home_

 _Hello from the outside_

 _At least I can say that I've tried_

 _To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart_

 _But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart_

 _Anymore~"_

I was a slower song, but it was something that could get stuck in your head, especially the chorus. I mixed the batter violently, as I had to make sure there were no lumps of powder. As the Adele song ended, and more fun one came on. Polaroid by Imagine Dragons. My favorite line of all of them was "I am the color of BOOM!" It makes me grin like I'm a head case** every time. It's such a happy sounding song, but when you pay attention to the lyrics, they're actually really depressing, but the happy sound and fun beat make it a fun song. One thing I love about Imagine Dragons is the fact that each of their songs sounds totally different from the rest.

I pour the batter in the butter-greased pan and pop it in the oven. Next, was simple cake pops for all the other people I give sweets to daily.

Elias' POV

I needed to tell my brother something. Something very important. I knew he'd be up at this hour, because even though he hates mornings he tends to be awake early enough to get some work done before school.

As soon as I was ready, I told Yukiya I'd see him in class and hurried out the door. I made my way to Klaus' office and knocked. I heard a thump and the scraping of a chair. I opened the door and peeked inside. There was a book on the floor and Klaus looked around looking confused.

"Klaus, it's me. Did you fall asleep at your desk?" ' _That's never happened before. Was he here all night?_ '

"Seems I did. Now, what did you need?"

I walked in and sat on the stool, as it was in the same spot I had left it in yesterday. "Okay, so I ended up going to Selene for help with that spell."

"I figured you would." he yawned.

"Well guess what else I learned."

"What?"

"Selene thinks that your fight last Friday was because some of her grades weren't very good, therefore bringing your grades down and making you irritable. She has absolutely no clue of the truth!" He looked at me for a moment before blinking.

Then he laughed, it was soft, but it was there, "Naive idiot, that girl...she's pretty oblivious, isn't she?"

"No more than one would expect. Perhaps you can use this chance and make up with her-she told me that she had a plan to do so, though I won't tell you what, because if you knew before hand, she'd know I told you, and the surprise would be ruined. This is your chance to take advantage of the situation and make up with your buddy!" I got up and hurriedly walked to the door, "Good luck, brother of mine!" The door swung shut behind me.

…. …. ….

Selene's POV

I faced my day with a fury-a good kind. I was able to do better in all of my classes, even Practical Magic (we were timing how long we could hold little tornados on the ends of our wands-turns out it's actually a technique to help learn to control magic and to help increase magical stamina). I avoided Zave at lunch, heading to the library instead. I felt a bit guilty about that, but I don't think I could face him right now.

After my Types of Magic class, where we spent the period working on our amulets, I headed straight to a certain Prefect's office. I hesitantly did my signature knock. ' _knock-knock knock-knock knock knock-knock bang!_ '

"Come in, Selene." He knew it was me. Of course he did, who else knocked like that? Seriously reader, if you do know someone who does that exact same knock, let me know so I can go scold them and tell them it's mine.

I opened the door and shut it behind me softly. "Good afternoon, Klaus. How has your day been?" I suddenly feel a bit nervous. Where is all of my usual audacious confidence?

"It's been quite well. Your's?" He didn't even look up from his desk, and if I wasn't mistaken, he seemed a little stiff.

"I did better in my classes today than normally." I took a deep breath, "I'd like to say I'm sorry for what happened last Friday."

This got his attention. Even though he still didn't look up, his pencil stopped moving, "You've nothing to apologize for. I snapped at you for reasons that had nothing to do with you."

"No, no!" I exclaimed, "I do! I know that my grades weren't as good as they should of been, and that it was due to me not studying as much as I should have been! And since our grades are intertwined, mine must have been bringing yours down, and I doubt that yours are usually anything less than perfect. Therefore, I've decided to study longer and harder and bring my grades up, and to say sorry I made you brownies!" I held out the package and looked away, faint flush of embarrassment on my face.

It seemed an eternity before he answered. He answered with a laugh, several of them.

Klaus' POV

I couldn't help but laugh at this innocent, naive girl I had fallen for. "Even though I told you it had nothing to do with you, it seems you're convinced it did. I'll accept the brownies and we'll call it even, okay?" Even though I'm partially lying, she doesn't know that. She looks at me, a grin slowly forming on her face even as I see relief in her eyes.

"Deal." She set the brownies on my desk and her bag in a chair before grabbing the duster from it's cupboard, starting what had become her normal set of chores. I turned back to finish on the report I was working on. The words blurred and I swayed. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. ' _Wake up!'_ I mentally scolded myself. But every so often my eyes blurred upon the words to the point where I gave up and just stared at the paper in a daze.

As soon as she finished dusting and straightening the office, we went outside to start her training.

"It's quite pleasant outside today...why is it that the weather is always so nice her? It's never even very cold in the mornings or evenings, and even though it's halfway through autumn, the leaves are still green. Why is that?" Selene seemed almost as if she was talking to herself, but I answered her rhetorical inquiry.

"The weather and seasons are magically controlled on the campus grounds. It also tend to rub off a bit on the surrounding areas, so they tend to have a shorter, later winter then they would otherwise."

"Really?" She laughs, "That's awesome! That means I won't have to deal with a sluggish season if I end up getting accepted."

"Sluggish season?"

"It's what I tend to call winter," she explains, "because, you see, during winter I tend to be really apathetic and almost in a hibernation type awareness. My brother's and I think it's due to the fact that cold plus Selene equals no energy. Literally, during the colder parts of winter back home I'd be curled up in multiple fuzzy blankets next to the fireplace and be completely unresponsive. Cold just seems to suck energy out of my very being."

"By now I should be used to how strange you are, but I'm not." I sigh.

"Eh, don't worry too much about it." She waves her hand dismissively, "My brother's still aren't used to it and they've been with me my entire life. Now, why don't we lay on the grass. I'll read the book I got from the library and you take a nap." I opened my mouth to say something but she gave me a look that cut me off. "Don't you argue with me now, young man. You're about to pass out. And if you collapsed because you wouldn't listen to me, let's just say that I don't need magic to smack you upside the head for being a scut and not taking proper care of yourself. I could tell from the moment you were just staring at your paper without even seeing it. How you got through your classes today I'll ne'er know. Now, go to sleep." She plops herself down on the grass, her legs out in front of her, crossed at the ankles. She pulls a book out of her bag, and, true to her word, starts reading.

I don't think I'll ever know what possessed me at that moment-I sat down and, instead of laying my head on the soft grass, I lay my head down on her lap and shut my eyes.

She didn't even flinch. All she did was shift her the position in which she held the book and read on. I remember her mentioning that in a family as large as hers, things like personal space and privacy were flimsy concepts. I don't doubt that she was often used as a pillow-but I felt my heart speed up a bit at the contact I had with her. Why did love do this to a man, make his heart palpitate with every brush against the woman he loved? Make him confused and jealous and brash? These questions are too complex right now, and I'm far too tired to think upon them.

I heard soft singing reach my ears, the melody slow, soft, and haunting, yet soothing. Selene was singing a song that must have been in English, because I couldn't understand the words. But it made me even more sleepy than I already was...she had such a pretty...voice…

" _Are you going to Scarborough Faire?_

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme._

 _Remember me to one who lived there._

 _He once was a true love of mine._

" _Have him make me a cambric shirt_

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme._

 _Without no seams, nor fine needle work._

 _Then he'll be a true love of mine._

" _Tell him to weave it in a sycamore wood lane._

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme_

 _Gather it up in a basket of flowers_

 _Then he'll be a true love of mine._

" _Have him wash it in yonder dry well_

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme_

 _Where water ne'er sprung, nor drop of rain fell._

 _Then he'll be a true love of mine._

" _Tell him to dry it on yonder thorn,_

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,_

 _Which never bore blossom since Adam was born,_

 _And then he'll be a true love of mine._

" _Tell him to to find me an acre of land._

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme_

 _Between the sea foam and over the sand._

 _Then he'll be a true love of mine._

" _Plow the land with the horn of a lamb._

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme_

 _Then sow some seeds from north of the dam._

 _Then he'll be a true love of mine._

" _Have him reap it with a sickle of leather._

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme_

 _Gather it up in a bunch of heather._

 _Then he'll be a true love of mine._

" _Have you been to Scarborough Faire?_

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,_

 _Remember me from one who lives there,_

 _For he once was a true love of mine._

" _When he has done and finished his work,_

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,_

 _Ask him to come for his cambric shirt,_

 _For then he'll be a true love of mine._

" _If he tells me he can't, then I'll reply._

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme_

 _Let me know, that at least he will try._

 _Then he'll be a true love of mine._

" _Love imposes impossible tasks_

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme_

 _Though not more than any heart asks._

 _And I must know he's true love of mine._

" _When thou has finished thy task._

 _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme_

 _Come to me my hand for to ask._

 _For then you'll be a true love of mine.~"_

* * *

*Oh, the irony! If only she knew…

**The song actually goes like this: " _I am a head case I am the color of boom"_ So it's a play on words. Did any of you actually get that before I explained it...? Maybe you could review and let me know…?

* * *

Authoress: I love that song, Scarborough Fair. It's such a pretty song with a deep meaning. (It took forever to locate that many verses of it...there's many more, since it's an old folk song and all, but those are what I could find…)

Selene: I agree. It's kind of become Klaus' and I's "our song" type of thing.

Authoress: I know, Selene. I'm the one who's recording the story, you know that.

(a dirt-covered Taffy comes running into the room, tears running down his adorable teddy bear face.)

Taffy: Selene! Athress! Me needs help! Master got stuck in hole! Can't find wand!

Selene and Authoress (groaning): _Again?!_

Authoress: I swear I've told him to stop digging those freaking holes at least twenty times now! I don't flippin' care why he does it! (stomps out of the room) This is the _last_ time I'm digging him out of the ground!

Selene (sighing): Come on, Taffy, let's go help her before Klaus learns that Serge is digging holes again...I'm the one who always has to fill them up…

(They walk out of the room)

Taffy: Yup! Me master not very 'sponsible 'bout his messes!

Selene: The struggle is real, Taffy, the struggle is real...


	29. Selene's Family

This is not really a chapter, but more of a clarification guide. As you all know, I've been pretty vague about Selene's very large family. And it's been driving me positively nuts! They all appear at some point in the story, and some play pretty important roles later on, so I decided to put together a character guide for Selene's family! Hopefully, this makes things not only easier for me, but for you guys, who don't have the author's expanded vision which can see everything about a story, past the words that are put on the page. Enjoy!

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Note: Ages are for after Selene's 17th birthday, which, ironically, is the winter solstice.

Note 2: There might be some conflictions with previous chapters. I did my best to make sure that I fixed everything I could in the previous chapters, but I might have missed something. This is, for sure, the complete collection of Selene's brothers and their families. Even if it's different in previous chapters, consider this to be correct. Thank you!

Note 3: All of Selene's brothers are taller than her, and most of her sisters are too. All of her brothers have straight brown hair and everyone (excepting Johnathan) have matching brown eye.

* * *

7 brothers

3 wives

3 girlfriends

6 nephew's (wife 1 has two, wife 2 has three, wife 4 has one.)

#.) Brother (Age)

CD) Character Description

CP) Character Personality

MT) Magical Talent

A.) Wife (W)/Girlfriend (G) (Age)

CD) Character Description

CP) Character Personality

MT) Magical Talent

B.) Children (Age)

(Children's descriptions may vary)

* * *

 **1.)** Johnathan (31)

CD) Silver eyes (Like Selene's), brown hair

CP) He is the oldest of Selene's brothers, and has pretty much been the father figure in her life (he's 14 years older than her). Like his wife, Selene's more like his daughter than his sister. Selene really looks up to him.

MT) his magic tends to not make much sense most of the time to anyone but him...it's pretty random...but fun...and strange...and I'll shut up now...

 **A.)** Cynthia (W) (31)

CD) hazel eyes, dark brown hair

CP) Cynthia is very motherly. She loves children and treats Selene as more of a daughter than a sister-in-law. She pretty much has been Selene's mother figure since Selene's actual mother died when she was seven.

MT) standard magics, is good with organization, cooking, and housekeeping spells and the like though...

 **B.)** Galvin (10)

CD) silver eyes, dark brown hair

CP) Galvin is a happy child. He's like his aunt Selene when it comes to the love of being outside. Unlike Selene, cold weather isn't a problem-Galvin loves being outside whenever it's possible, no matter the weather or the temperature.

Elvy (6)

CD) hazel eyes, brown hair

CP) Elvy loves chasing after his big brother and going on adventures with him. The two play-pretend all sorts of adventures and get into all sorts of things. He's a little more reserved than Galvin, though.

* * *

 **2.)** Matthias (29)

CD) brown eyes, brown hair

CP) Matthias is a very collected person. He's good at keeping calm, and good at calming others, whether they be human or animals. He helps others think rationally and calm down in stressful situations and the like.

MT) animal/tamer magics

 **A.)** Marie (W) (27)

CD) light green eyes, light blonde hair

CP) Marie is Selene's "favorite" sister (only because she's more accepting of Selene's dislike of being constantly dressed up and fussed over) and lets people be as they are. She's very accepting of who people are and won't try to change them.

MT) specifically veterinary magics

 **B.)** Alric (6) (the one the Sakura the wing-rabbit likes)

CD) green-hazel eyes, light brown hair

CP) He likes animals and is very quiet and a bit shy. But he's a sweet kid.

Matthias Jr. (5)

CD) brown eyes, brown hair

CP) True to his name, he's a lot like his father in looks and manner. He likes animals, preferably canines. He's a calm child.

Maverick (1)

CD) light green eyes, brown hair

CP) Maverick is a sweetheart. A super cute little toddler with a lot of energy that no one in his family is sure who he inherited it from. Gets into _everything_.

* * *

 **3.)** Matthew (27)

CD) brown eyes, brown hair

CP) Matthew is just an all-around nice guy. You'll tend to find him in his workshop working on a car or with his family. He's nervous about his coming child.

MT) he isn't the biggest fan of using magic, and his talent is pretty limited to mechanics (keyword: mechanics. not technology…)

 **A.)** Sarah (W) (Isa's older sister) (24)

CD) dark brown eyes, dark brown hair

CP) Honestly, she's a lot like Isa. They are sisters and are very close. The biggest difference in their personalities is that Sarah's a little more overbearing and loves dressing people up.

MT) fashion magics-likes combining magic with clothes and makeup and the like

 **B.)** Heavily pregnant. Gender unknown.

* * *

 **4.)** Inan (24)

CD) brown eyes, brown hair

CP) He tends to be a bit vague in his wording of things...but he's a nice guy, if not a bit abstract...

MT) seer, best with things like divination methods

 **A.)** Ria (W) (23)

CD) very light brown eyes, stick-straight light blond hair

CP) Ria likes making things cute, and is good at decorating things. She likes cake decorating and such specifically, and tends to be the designated decorator the the family.

MT) normal magic, best with cutesy charms and the like

 **B.)** Daren (2)

CD) brown eyes, brown hair

CP) Daren has a speech problem, badly stutters and takes a while to say things. But a sweeter kid you'll ne'er find.

* * *

 **5.)** Wade (22)

CD) brown eyes, brown hair

CP) He's very "let's do it!" and he plays ladylz for the national Suron team, the Dragons (Suron is a kingdom right to the south of Geolune (Gedonelune, as I've been spelling it wrong the entire story and it's a little too late to change it now…). Wade also went to school there, and that's how he got scouted for the Dragons), and also enters in broomstick races all the time in lots of different places in Myula, hence the reason we won't see him as much as the rest of the brothers.

MT) sporty magics-ladlyz player, is also a broomstick racer

 **A.)** Galena (G) (22)

CD) left eye pale green/right eye pale blue, dark purple hair (it's dyed)

CP) Galena loves Ladlyz and broomstick races, but doesn't compete competitively. She does it recreationally and travels around with her boyfriend as moral support.

MT) also sporty magics, but doesn't play professionally

* * *

 **6.)** Eric (20) (G)

CD) brown eyes, brown hair

CP) The largest of all Selene's brothers at a shocking 6'5". He's pretty gruff and quiet, but his heart is in the right place and he's very dependable-always there when you need him, no questions asked.

MT) transportation magics

 **A.)** Felicia (21)

CD) left eye light blue/right eye dark blue, curly black hair

CP) Felicia is very, very introverted, and very very shy. It's rare to hear her speak, but she's very smart. Selene swears that Eric and Felicia are able to communicate telepathically, because they don't need to say a word most times to be able to communicate. (this may or may not be true...)

MT) very talented at healing

* * *

 **7.)** Merlin (17)

CD) brown eyes, brown hair-his brothers all say he looks exactly like their father to the point it's almost scary.

CP) A bit erratic. Tends to withdraw into his thoughts, thinking of his inventions and works in progress. He's pretty much one of those obsessive genius types who'll get so absorbed in their work they'd be there forever unless someone intervenes. He'll often talk to himself, saying things that only make sense to him, and get really, really focused on his work at times like these. Only, he'll actually make sure he takes decent care of himself otherwise he risks the wrath of Selene, which he prefers not to do.

MT) technological magic—a unique combination of magical tool creation and Terran technology

* * *

And there y'all go! That is Selene's family! It took me a while to put this all together (meaning I had to search through old chapters-resisting the urge to rewrite them-and make sure there were as few conflictions as possible), but I think it was totally worth it...and that nagging urge to figure this all out is gone now, thank goodness...


	30. Chapter 24

Hey y'all! Here's the next chapter. Due to driver's ed (which is going really well, thank you!), my writing amount will be slow for the next few weeks...I also might be trying out for a play next week, and if I get a part that means that this situation might not progress much. Currently, I have up to chapter 29 completed, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up with the once every two weeks posting I've been doing. I might be able to pick up the pace in a few months but for now...the struggle is real.

Sybbie: The reviews are actually working again! It seems I wasn't the only one with the problem, and the site managers fixed it a few days ago! So reviews can be as long as you want them to! You, and others, always leave reviews that make my day and make me more energized to work on this story! Whenever I learn that another person actually _likes_ this slew of words I post it makes me really, really, really happy. And your review made _me_ smile until my cheeks hurt! Thank yoooooooou~! (I too love Elias, and Klaus is my favorite too! Though that's probably pretty obvious!)

Oh, and I've been trying to get a better cover picture for this story. I'm actually hoping you guys might be able to help me with this. I'll say this here and now—I'm a utterly horrid artist! That's where you guys come in! If any of you guys are awesome artists, and would like to create a cover art for the story's feel free! I'll choose the one I think best conveys this story! I'd really appreaticate the help—email a picture to selenafonix (att) gmail. com (just without the spaces...) and good luck! And if any of you want to suggest a song that I may or may not put in at some point, leave a review and I might use it at some point!

Something fun happens in this chapter. I actually did this once, too...I have no regrets!

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Chapter 24

I checked my phone. It was about an hour until dinner ended. Klaus was still asleep. My leg had fallen asleep a while ago and I had given up on reading only a half hour after I had started. I did get a good chunk of my homework done. For the last half hour I've just been listening to music and playing with Klaus' hair.

I know, I know, it sounds really strange and intimate and whatever, but whenever someone used me as a pillow, I tend to play with their hair. I, for one, know it feels really nice to have someone play with my hair, especially when I'm sleepy. Plus, I've kind of wanted to play with his hair for a while now.

No, it's not weird, okay? Both of the Goldstein brothers looked like they had really soft hair, and they do! I tend to ruffle Elias' a lot, and I've been curious if Klaus' is just as soft.

It is. :)

I've been putting little braids in his hair. I have this little ring clip of little clear hair ties in my bag that I often use when I braid my hair back, and so I used the little plasticy-rubbery-whatever-these-things-are-made-of ties to secure the baby braids (as I call mini braids) I've been weaving into his hair. His hair is longer in the front and a lot shorter in the back, which annoys me to say the least. Choose one hair length, dude, and stick with it. While it drives me nuts, it does look good on him, I'll give him that.

Either he's a really sound sleeper, or he's just dead tired. Or perhaps even both. Whatever it is, he's not waking up as I play with his hair, which, I notice, is more golden colored than my hair. Mine tends to look more golden with the sun on it, and more like a really light brown without the sun. His is golden blond through and through. I remember from the pictures he showed me last week that he was even more fair haired as a little kid, though not so much that it was the color of corn silk. Mine was the color of corn silk when I was really little, and it's been getting darker every year since then. My hope is that it by the time I'm an adult, it'll be a light brown. I'm not the biggest fan of being blonde. I don't think they have this stereotype in Myula, but I like to think that I am the farthest thing from being a dumb blonde, but then again, don't we all have our blonde moments?

Unless you're Kyoya-sempai or someone of that likeness. I just realized that the Goldstein brothers have the same hair and eye color as Tamaki-senpai, but entirely different personalities. Haha.

I've gotten really off topic, haven't I? I have problems. Sigh...what was I even saying before I started talking about hair…?

Oh yeah. My leg is asleep. I can sense the onslaught of pins and needles to come the moment I stand up. I also know that Klaus will probably tease me for it too. I smile, thinking of that. I do tend to warrant teasing more that I usually realize at the time.

I've artfully placed the braids to where they aren't clustered, which isn't hard since all the hair that is long enough it on the top and at the front, and since he's lying on his back, it makes it all the easier. Also, they're really tiny braids, so unless someone looks really closely or ruffles his hair (I highly doubt anyone would, I mean, this is Klaus we're talking about…). And if he wants to complain about it, I have a perfect retort to use. Hehe.

By the time I checked my phone again it was just over half an hour until dinner ended. Time to wake him up. No way was I missing dinner.

I put my phone away before I shook his shoulders, "Klaus, time to wake up…"

He made that noise that people make when they don't want to get out of bed but people won't stop telling them to get up.

"Come on, buddy, I need to go eat dinner, and you can go sleep in you bed."

He made the noise again.

"Last time. Get. Up." I tugged a lock of his hair, but not hard enough to hurt.

He rubbed his eyes, "Where am I and what time is it…?" He mumbled.

"It's half an hour until dinner ends. And we're in the courtyard we use for training."

He sat up slowly before getting up and brushing himself off. I massaged my leg, trying to get some feeling into it. I could already feel the pins and needles.

I stood up only to have my legs give way.

Klaus' POV

I reflexively reached out and arm and caught her. She laughed, "I'm fine. Pins and needles is all." I let her go and she hopped around from one foot to the next, trying to get some feeling back into her legs. I can't believe she actually just let me use her as a pillow. And now I feel awkward.

"Sorry about that. I'm not sure why I did that."

"Naw, it's fine. I'm used to being used in that manner. Besides, I've already gotten my payback."

I suddenly had a feeling of dread replace my embarrassment. She snickered like she knew a secret. "What did you do?" I sighed.

"Oh, just be careful when you brush your hair next." She waved dismissively as she picked up her bag.

I ran a hand through my hair. What the…? Did she really…?

"It's your fault that your hair's long enough for me to do that!" She laughed like an evil maniac as she darted out of the courtyard.

I have to smile (read, _smirk_ , as that is what Klaus usually does instead of actually smiling) at this whole thing, being back to some semblance of normal and all. It's like Friday never happened.

Only, my heart didn't hurt like this.

Selene's POV

After dinner, which I nearly missed, I ran into Isa. I told her, smiling, that Klaus and I made up. Then she asked me what I had said on Saturday. Apparently Zave had told them he was planning on asking me out.

I felt really kind of awkward but I told her what had happened. "Every time I think about it, I still start panicking on the inside! I don't have a clue what to tell him, Isa! Nothing like this has ever happened and I feel as if I tell him no I lose a good friendship and I'm also scared to say yes because I don't think that I'm in love with him that way and I'm freaking out!" All the calm of the courtyard has left me and now I'm in panic mode.

The older girl just smiled gently and gave me hug. "It's going to be perfectly fine. I sincerely doubt that he'd stop being your friend just because you said you didn't want to date him. And love tends to be something that comes over time, though I'm not saying that love at first sight doesn't exist, I'm just saying it's rare. It usually becomes real love after being with a person you care about for a long time. And besides, I bet that if you say no now, he'll be glad to get a yes whenever, if ever, you're ready." I returned her hug.

"Thank you. I've only known you and everyone else for a week and it's like I've known most of you for far longer." She ruffles my hair as I smile, relieved. Sometimes you know the answer subconsciously, and just need someone else to verbalize it.

"It's like...magic." she winks, "Wouldn't you agree?

Klaus' POV

As I lay in my bed I find that sleep evades me. My thoughts are too scattered for me to sleep. Is this how Selene feels when her insomnia keeps her awake? Like her brain just won't stop thinking? Perhaps I should cut her a little more slack, because I know she probably gets less sleep than I do on a regular basis. Between the amount of studying she does, how early she always gets up, and school, how does she not pass out from exhaustion? I could barely stand two nights of hardly any sleep, and she hardly sleeps at all, at least, it seems that way. Is she just used to it? Or is she just resilient to anything thrown her way? I wouldn't doubt that it's both, knowing her...

Again I find myself thinking, just what has this girl done to me? She seems to always be in my thoughts, no matter what I'm doing. Even yesterday and today, when I've done nothing but work on things that usually take up all the space in my thoughts, she kept slipping in, unnoticed until I realize I've stopped working.

I feel like such a typical teenage boy, thinking about her so much _allowing_ myself to think about her so much. Like how I just want to hold her in my arms and tell her how I feel for her, even though she has a boyfriend, no, in _spite_ of the fact that she has a boyfriend. I _want_ her to _return_ my affections. I want _her_ to want _me_ just as much as I want her. But I won't do that. I won't tell her. I can't, not as a boy in love, but as a man who knows better than to confess to a woman who already is in a relationship with another. Even if it breaks me, I won't let it break through. I won't. I won't. No matter how much I want, I won't. That's the way it has to be.

At least, that's what I need to convince myself of.

I'm teaching her practical magic class tomorrow. I completely forgot that Professor Schuyler had mage business to attend to that period. I have no plans for what I'll be teaching. This is very uncharacteristic for me. Well, at least I have something productive to think about now instead of just pining away like a lovesick idiot. What could I do tomorrow that would be able to be done very last minute and seemed like it wasn't? A game, perhaps? Have they covered hiding magicks yet? I don't think so, and I'm pretty sure Selene wouldn't know any, at least. That means that magic Hide and Seek is out. Ladlyz, perhaps?

{(( _Sorry if I spelled that wrong I couldn't remember the correct spelling for the life of me! Someone please tell me if it's wrong..._ ))}

Yes, I think that will be what we do. Simple enough, and everyone knows how to play.

Wait, does Selene know how? She might, as her brothers have all gone to school in Myula, and it's one of the most popular international sports. But that doesn't mean any of them have played or taught it to her. Knowing her, though, she'll quickly pick it up. I think she'll have fun with it.

I shouldn't let what a single student would think affect what I'd use for a lesson. But for some reason, I want to.

No. She had nothing to do with my choice.

Nothing at all.

Why am I still awake?

My feet are cold.

Why can't I stop thinking about her, about life?

Just go to sleep already.

Something must be wrong with me.

Something is.

Those cursed braids are still in my hair.

Why can't she just realize how I feel?

I need a new pillow.

How do I rid myself of such distracting feelings?

How does she make those things so small?

They're just going to end up getting in my way.

This pillow has gotten too flat.

If I can't focus on my goal, I'll never reach it.

I guess I'll just leave them in for now.

If I never reach it, what will be the point of all the work I've done so far?

If I reach it, I'll be able to see her even after I graduate.

That'd be nice.

I wonder if she's still awake…

Or is she asleep by now?

Selene…

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Authoress: I've actually braided someone's hair like that while they slept...it was during a long car ride and I braided my cousin's hair like that...like you said, Selene, it's his fault for having hair long enough for me to braid! And then there's the fact that it was because I was bored and he decided that his little cousin two years younger than him (that got stuck between him and his younger brother because they'd bicker endlessly otherwise) would make a better pillow than the window on his other side...he still tries to get revenge because his siblings didn't let him live it down for a _long_ time...try being the key word.

Selene *laughing*: Pfft...It's so true, though! If they don't want people like us to do something like that, they shouldn't wear their hair that long!

Authoress: Right? It's not our fault...! And it's not like his attempts at revenge have ever succeeded-I'm the female equivalent of the Trickster King when I want to be. I'm an April Fools' child-only instead of the pranked, I'm the pranker.

Selene: That is so true. And even though I'm used to being a human pillow for people, don't they realize that it's not usually worth our time, especially when we never do such ourselves?

Authoress: Exactly!

Selene: To be perfectly honest, I did that to Klaus today.

Authoress: Seriously?

Selene: Yup. He needed a nap because he worked through the night. No matter how many times I tell him not to…

Authoress: What excuse was it this time? Was it false daylight? It couldn't have been because it was storming so badly that it was impossible to tell what time it was, because there was no rain last night…

Selene: Apparently his curtains were shut and he's got those black-out curtain things, you know? So he didn't realize what time it was until he walked out to go use the restroom and saw that it was morning.

Authoress: Man, men are idiots sometimes...make that a lot of the time…

Selene: Only I did more than put braids in it…

Authoress *curious*: What was it this time...?

Selene:I turned the tips of his hair pink-as in Serge pink.

Authoress *playful gasp followed by giggles*: No!

Selene: Yes. He's probably go…

Klaus (roaring from somewhere in the distance): SELEEEEEEEEEEENE!

Selene: ...ing to wake up soon...RUN!


	31. Chapter 25

Guess what! I sent in a request for the site managers to reorganize the Shall We Date? section and they said they will!

This is the message I sent: "The "Shall We Date? Ninja Love" section is the only category for any of the "Shall We Date?" games—the different games are only able to be sorted as different worlds. My request is that it is renamed "Shall We Date?" and given subcategories for each game. It'd make it so much easier to find stories for a specific game without the name of the specific game being in the title or summary of stories."

This is what they sent back: Yes. When it was created, there were not that many games in the series. We will amend the name at the next major site update. Thanks.

Please help us spread the word.

Zack

I'm so proud of myself guys! Soon there'll be a special section for the Wizardess Heart stories and finding them will become so much easier! To be honest, I've been using the search bar and typing in "Wizardess Heart" to find stories, and I know of several that don't show up when I do that. Therefore, this upcoming change is great! I'm not sure exactly when the next major update for the site will be, but I'm countin' on all a'y'all to help spread this around! Let people know!

hailstorm888: I must thank you for the compliment! I'm not sure why I can switch POV's so easily, but I really do love delving into the minds of different characters and revealing what they're thinking. But, for me at least, it really only works so well with some stories in first person like this. Most of the time, I have to work in third person to reveal what more than one character is thinking. And the comment about Selene's continually derailing train of thought...I must confess that she gets that from the writer of this story...because I do that a lot and no matter how hard I try it seems to rub off on my characters...

Sybbie: Thanks! I really try to make things interesting and original, so I'm glad when they turn out that way. Selene and Klaus are a fun pair to work with. Selene's pretty much always annoying the crap out of him, and there really isn't anything Klaus can do about it besides scold her or prank her back-which rarely has any affect because Selene will think it's funny and amusing and it doesn't really change a thing. Is it wrong that I have so much fun watching Klaus struggle with Selene?

Oh, and the request from last time, about help with a new cover for this story is still wide open! I really need the help, because I feel that the cover I have now doesn't really suit the story correctly and I'm perfectly awful at drawing...or art...so that's why I'm asking all of you guys, my absolutely wonderful readers! :{) (Moostach! Pfft...I'm weird...)

And I've got exams this week! Wish me luck!

Day 7 of the Trial.

Chapter 25

When I woke up, I was in a really good mood. It was one of those days where you just have a feeling that everything is going to be awesome. I love it when this happens. There are good days, and then there are _good_ days. This was one of those _good_ days.

My baked good for the day was the classic fresh baked bread (I used magic to make the yeast rise in a fraction of the natural time-another skill that took ages and tons of wasted yeast to perfect). Can't go wrong with good bread. And little baby packages of homemade jam I had Blazye transport oved from Terra. YUM.

I walked into class carrying three bundles, having already given Isa and Alex theirs (and giving them Zave's to give to him because he was going to stay in bed today with a headache caused by a certain kind of spell that they performed in one of his classes. They apparently were learning about drawback spells, often referred to as double-edged spells, and the side-effect of using that spell was a major headache for nearly a day later. Alex just got to walk around with a cramped wand-hand for a few days. Isa wasn't in that class.). I noticed that while Yukiya was here, Elias wasn't. I took my seat and turned around. I began poking my daydreamy friend in the side of the head with his package-he turned around and bit the package, making me giggle. He was still half asleep.

Grabbing the package with his hand instead of his teeth, I released it. "Good morning to you, sleepyhead. Where's your roommate? It's quite unusual for him to be late. Normally he's the first one here."

"I don't know." He said, face blank as he opened the package and dumped the jam on top, spreading it with his finger. Yukiya also comes from a big family, not as large as mine, but big nonetheless. Germs aren't the biggest worry unless someone is actually sick. He licks his finger and bites into the bread-because of my magic, it's still warm. I see a small smile form on his lips and I grin in return.

"Okay then, have fun with the food." I teased purposelessly. I turned back around and set up my desk-I'm quite organized with my stuff for school. Actually, everything of mine is organized with the exclusion of my brain. My hope is that if everything around me is organized, my head will one day follow that example. It hasn't happened yet, but one mustn't lose hope!

"Ahem!"

I look over to see three girls in my class. I had never really bothered to learn their names. They seemed just like the kind of girls to be obsessively fangirly over something.

"Hello! Do you three need something?"

"I'm Rose!"

"I'm Violet!"

"I'm Lily!"

The three spoke at the same time.

"Nice to meet you. Now, do you need something?"

"Yes!" The girl named Violet cried, "You're getting far too close to our Elias!"

"Excuse me?"

"We are the members of the Elias Goldstein Fanclub!" The chanted together.

"And as such, it's our job to look out for our beloved!" declared...Rose, I believe.

"You're getting far too friendly with him."

"Such a man he is…"

"A member of the prestigious Goldstein family and head of the class!"

They went on about how amazing Elias was.

I snorted, " _I wasn't aware that Elias had a harem._ "

"Don't go using that strange language to laugh at us!" Lily cried.

"Yeah! Elias is so much better than you!"

This made me laugh harder.

"You think you're _sooo_ funny, don't you?!"

They gathered around me and started "threatening." In reality, they were telling me to stay away from Elias, and the result made me laugh harder and harder. I spoke through my laughter, "What you guys...don't seem...to get...is the fact that...Eli is like...a little...brother...to me!" I did my best to quell it, but my shoulders still shook. "Like Yuki is." I glanced at him and had a thought, becoming distracted. "Hey, speaking of you, Yuki, I think you need a haircut."

This made him come out of his haze, "Huh?"

"A haircut. I think you'd look really boss with a shorter haircut. All manly and cool." His face turned a little shy and he looked down, his bangs covering his eyepatch even more. Ah, so that's it. "And it'd show off your awesome eyepatch. No need to hide it like _Ciel Phantomhive_. Wow. Now that I realize it, if your eyepatch was on the other side you'd look really similar, well except for the eye color and age…"

"Don't ignore us!" One of the girls cried. I did, though, and went on speaking.

I gasped, making the three girls jump slightly. "Don't tell me that you still have a working eye, but that it's where your contract to something magical and strange!" This made him flinch almost imperceptibly. I don't think anyone besides I saw that. "Naw," I said dismissively, he glanced up and I winked slyly at him, telling him I wouldn't push it, "That'd be _too_ similar to the story. Unless...you don't have a tall, black-haired, red-eyed demon butler who does your bidding, do you?" I teased. He shook his head and went back to looking out the window, sensing I was done with him. I was. "Good. That's a relief."

I turned back to my desk smiling. I'd leave that interrogation for another time when there wasn't tons of people watching.

Someone grabbed my arm, trying to be rough. I had forgotten about the three of you. I turned and gave...Rose? a bright smile, bright as in burning with annoyance, like the sun during the dust bowl that took place during the Great Depression in the United States a long time ago. "Yes...?" You could see it in my smile, you could hear it in my voice. It said: Go away. Now. You're annoying.

"The nerve…!"

"Excuse me, ladies, but is there a reason for you blocking my desk?" Oh thank goodness Elias is back. He'll get rid of these things.

The girl jumped and backed up, stuttering an apology, and swooning as Elias scolded her for not paying enough attention to her studies, since she clearly had time to go bother others. The three of them scurried off giggling. Good...they're gone! Finally...

"Hey Eli! Where were you?" I was smiling for real now.

"Dropping off some books for Klaus at the archives." He took a seat, turning to face me, "Are you okay? Did they do anything?"

"You mean other than be annoying? No, nothing I couldn't handle." I waggled my eyebrows at him, "And you didn't tell me you had your own personal harem!" I whispered that last part to spare him some embarrassment. I don't know how much good it did, though, because he still went red to his ears and put his hands over his face, groaning.

"Please don't call them that. Please. That will make it worse!"

I snickered, "If you say sooooo…"

He glared at me, "I try to get them to stop and leave me alone, but they never listen."

"Yeah, I think it's clear that they're masochists when it comes to you. Being harsh will please them as much as being nice. I think you should just completely ignore them-that'll crush them, and it might be the only way to rid yourself of them."

"I've tried that." He deadpanned.

I shrugged, "You could just get a girlfriend, or pretend to have one who lives a ways away. Heck, if that doesn't work, get someone to pretend to play the part. If worst comes to that, _I'd_ do it." I smiled, showing him pity as his face turned red at the suggestion.

"No no no no...that can _never_ happen. _Ever_. _Never_." He seemed to panic at the thought, like my even saying something like that could be the death of them.

I pouted, "Am I that bad…?"

He was really flustered by this point. Man this kid was simple when it comes to emotions!

"No! Not at all!"

"So why not?" I tilted my head.

"Well, it's just...it's just that...I think of you more like a big sister!" He blurted, his face saying 'Yeah! That's it!' "So it would be really weird to even think of you pretending to be my girlfriend."

Behind me I heard the low chuckle of Yukiya. He's the only other one who had heard.

Elias's POV

She ruffled my hair, "Don't get so worked up, Eli. I'm only funning. You are so easy to tease!" She giggled. "I agree though, t'would be weird. You're like a baby bro' to me." she grinned, and I felt _very_ relieved. For one, she already had a boyfriend, and two, Klaus would probably murder me for even faking something like that. I'm not kidding in the slightest.

Besides, Klaus is in a pretty good mood today, at least compared to what he was the other day. Also, I'm pretty sure I saw a bunch of miniscule braids in his hair when I went to grab the books I was going to take back to the archives for him. But when I asked, he just waved me away, telling me to hurry up so I wouldn't be late for class. What that was about, I'm not sure I really want to know...

I do wonder how yesterday went. He does seem to have made up with her somewhat, because both him and Selene are looking much happier today. Perhaps I could ask Selene later. Unlike my brother, she'll boldly say something without fear-whether it be completely insensitive or blunt, or naively innocent. At times, it's unintentionally ridiculously funny.

What am I doing? Why am I wasting thoughts on something other than studying right now? Focus, focus. The lesson is on making a potion to cure nausea. I studied this last week-it shouldn't be to hard.

Klaus's POV

I'm currently in the largest practice courtyard, marking the boundaries of two separate Ladlyz fields with glittering magical lines that will fade by the end of the day. Since it's merely recreational, and there's only twenty three students, I've only made two half-sized fields. With the addition of me, there will be four teams. With luck, there will be able to be four total matches-two in each field. A small bracket. Two teams face off on each field-the two winners will face off while the two losers do the same. The result, first, second, third, and fourth places.

I smile a little bit as I finish up putting the last few lines into place. I wonder how Selene will fair. She's seems like the competitive type. Even if she hasn't played it before, I'm sure she'll pick it up fast. After all, she's quickly catching up with her studies after she entered a month into the school year. And she's in level 14 with Elias. Most of the kids her age are in level fifteen, but, then again, most of what she learned was self-taught through trial and error. I don't doubt she'll skip into level sixteen or seventeen after exams next year (at the end of the year, a series of various kinds of exams are taken by each student to determine what level they'll be in, and they can take any classes they choose from the age of seventeen up that are in their current level or below). If she can manage to get into seventeen, she'll be able to choose to take specialized classes for her unique skills with fire-and if she does well enough with those types of classes, she'll be qualified for the series of tests required to become and official fire elemental wizard. I know she badly wants to become a Fire Elementress, as she calls it. If she can pass all of the tests for the qualifications, she'll be the first new fire type elemental wizard in over a decade. There have been several for earth, water, and wind, in the past several years, but fire is the hardest element to gain control over after a certain point. After all, it's easy to manage a small campfire-but a raging forest fire, or a volcano, are entirely different matters. There are exactly seven true fire wizards-compared to the nearly 100 wind, 85 earth, and 70 water wizards. But I think _know_ that she has the capabilities to do it. And I do believe that she has the drive.

* * *

Yikes! Thanks for pointing out that I left out the ender, Sybbie! Here it is!:

* * *

Authoress: I'm nuts, baby, I'm mad~~Craziest friend you've ever had~!

Selene: I can sense your horror~~though I'd like to see it closer~

Authoress: All the kids cry out "Please top you're scaring me!"~~I can't help this awful energy!~

Selene: I am a head case I am the color of BOOM!~

They continue switching between lyrics from different songs. Katalina, off to the side with Elias as they both stand in the doorway, is hiding behind her buddy.

Katalina: E-Elias? What are they doing? They're kind of scaring me…

Elias *a bit weirded out himself*:Uh, I'm not sure...Klaus!

The two run out and summon Klaus.

Klaus *sighing*: What do you need, brother?

Katalina: Selene and Authoress are being creepy!

Elias: I think they're attempting some sort of evil magic from the sound of it…

Klaus: One, Authoress can't use magic-how often does she remind us that?-two, those two are always strange. It seems to be a Terran thing, as far as I can tell…

Selene *from the distance*: Just wait you can't hide from me!~

(Authoress: I'm coming!~)

Selene: Just wait you can't hide from me!~

(Authoress: I'm coming!~)

Katalina shrieks and runs off, Elias chasing after her, trying to get her to slow down.

Klaus: SELENE! AUTHORESS! SHUT UP! SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO BE PRODUCTIVE HERE!

Selene and Authoress *laughing manically*: NEVER~!


	32. Chapter 26

Hey guys! Here's the new chapter! We get to see how well Selene can get along with people if she wants to! And, we (well, they) get to play some Ladlyz! This message also gets to be short and sweet!

* * *

Chapter 26

Next was practical magic. That was a class where we did something for a day, maybe two, and then moved onto something else. Therefore, we never really knew what was next, making it a usually fun surprise, despite the Snape-like teacher (even though he was fair to a fault, unlike Severus himself). Unless it was something I can't do. Like the one day last week where we were _supposed_ to make it rain, and I ended up getting everyone covered in golden glittery stuff. Yup, talk about a screw up! First days suck sometimes. Of course, so do normal days occasionally.

When we (Elias, Yukiya, and I (and somewhere, Luca, who had skipped the first class, joined us)) came to the door of Professor Schuyler's class to find a piece of paper stuck to it.

" _Go outside to the large courtyard for class today_." I read, "That looks like Klaus' handwriting."

"How can you tell? Are you so in love with him you can just tell it's him?" Luca teased.

I smiled when I rolled my eyes, "Did you forget I'm that buddy of his who does a good deal of his chores? Plus, he has very fancy writing, unlike like my _cursive_ scrawl."

"What's...curse-eve?" Elias tried to pronounce it.

"It's pronounced _Curr-sivv_." He tried it and got it better, but he still had an accent, which was to be expected. I was slowly teaching him English words. He said it would be interesting to learn English, because it's a new challenge he'd be good at-memorization. "It's the word for joined-letter writing. It might have it's own word here. It allows me to connect the letters in a word. It actually is easier to write faster once you get decent at it, because you don't have to pick up your pencil for each letter and can just glide across the page, in a way. Now, let's go!" I stuck my wand in my waistband, hooked arms with him (much to the irritated glares of his "fan club" * _cough*harem*cough*_ ), and grabbed Yukiya's hand (much to his surprise) and began dragging them to the courtyard. Today was another sunny day, and I'm going to relish the time outside! (I wonder if I can learn the enchantments that allow the headmaster to control the weather and climate on the school grounds and use it on my families land-it'd mean no more sluggish season! And I might be able to enjoy Christmas and all other holidays in the cold months to a fuller extent for once!).

I could feel Yukiya's hesitation and mild fear as I held his hand (pulling him along). I know from observation and instinct (most likely my mother's instinct) that Yukiya is afraid of becoming too close to people, that he thinks that he'll just end up hurting them. I'm not stupid. I've heard the rumors, saying that he's "cursed" and that you'll be cursed if you get to close. That's a load of bull. Curses don't tend to be contagious, morons! Even if it was one of those, how come Elias, his roommate for over a year now, isn't cursed? If anything, I think that this whole problem stems from the eyepatch, well, what's hidden under it, and eventually, I'll confront him about it. He may want it hidden, but I can tell it's something that would be so much easier to bear if someone shares the burden. He's a sweet kid, and he shouldn't have to suffer all alone...

My train of thought derails as we reach the courtyard.

Klaus's POV

I see the first few students enter the courtyard. It just so happens to be Selene, Elias, and Yukiya Reizen. Luca Orlem follows close behind, hands in his pockets as he laughs lightly at the other three. A grinning Selene has her right arm hooked around a red-faced Elias' and her left hand pulling along Reizen, who looks a bit scared at the contact, which is the most emotion I've seen him have. It makes me wonder if he's scared of hurting people. The rumors about him are nothing but lies, because after all, Elias is perfectly fine, is he not? It's apparent he does have a friend or two now, though. That's good. She spots me and smiles, "I was right!" Orlem laughs.

What annoys me a little bit is the way Selene was pulling them. Why does she have to touch other men? My thoughts darken for a moment as I remember she'll always be with another man. That _Moonwalker_. Her boyfriend. The man who can be near her in all the ways I can't. I shake my head and concentrate on Selene acting a bit like a dog. She had released the two boys and dropped her bag before falling back onto the grass and wiggling as she stretches against the ground, looking akin to a dog squirming in the grass. It's pretty cute, to be perfectly honest. It makes me smile ever so slightly. I shouldn't be jealous of those two-they're just her friends. Elias assured me that she treats him and Yukiya like little brothers, so I think that the only competition I'd have is her actual boyfriend. But I don't want to think about him now-I've a job to do.

The rest of the students are here, the last stragglers just coming in. Time to start. I called the class to order, and they all lined up, Selene brushing grass off herself. I snicker a bit inwardly. She's so childish sometimes. It's goofy but I don't think she'd be the way she is without that part of her. "Okay, class. Today, as you may have guessed from the playing fields marked on the grass, we're going to be playing Ladlyz." I begin to explain how the games are going to work, and I notice that Selene's hands are covering her mouth and she's bouncing on the heels of her feet. I'm going to take it as a confirmation that she knows how to play. I ask if anyone doesn't know how to play anyway. Everyone does.

"Since this class only has 23 people, I will join in so there are a total of four even teams. Does anyone wish to be a captain?"

Selene's hand shot up, and a few other hands raised themselves. I chose the first four that had gone up-Selene, one of the three girls in Elias' fanclub (they really give me a great reason to tease my little brother), a male student whose name has slipped my mind, and, surprisingly, Orlem. They walked a bit forward and stood in a line. I joined the students to be chosen.

Selene went first, choosing Yukiya. Elias was chosen by the other girl (I could practically feel the annoyed aura radiating from him). I was chosen next-I hid the disappointment that I was . Luca choose a boy who was a reserve on the school team. The choosing went on. Selene cleverly choose people who would be useful-and were a bit less wary of Yukiya than the other's. Elias' captain choose her two sisters and two other guys, both fairly burly (I guess because she and her sister's didn't want any other girls to be on their team and possibly distract Elias from them.) My own captain and Luca choose what they could.

"Teams one and four, you take the field closest to the entrance you came in through, teams two and three, we're on the other one."

The teams moved to the individual fields.

Selene's POV

I was excited. _Really_ excited.

"Why are you so hyper? More than normal?" Yukiya asked quietly.

"I love this game! I've played it with my brothers, and I love it, so much!"

"We can tell." The other girl on the team said-her name was Maegan, I believe, and she seemed like she'd be a pretty fast runner-causing the three guys, Lorenz, Everard, and a burly, yet quiet, guy named Franz, to laugh.

"I've never actually used an actual Ladlyz ball-we have to be really careful about our magic back home because most people don't really believe in it-we used a kickball. I don't think you have them here in Myula." I began stretching.

"Why do you wear shorts under your uniform?" asked Everard-he was one of the youngest ones in the class, his fourteenth birthday only recently.

I gave him a look, eyebrow raised, "Does that mean you were looking?"

"No! Uh...I...wasn't! Uh…"

I laughed, "Don't get flustered, kid, I'm only teasing. I wear shorts because I'm most definitely not a proper lady and like sitting cross-legged-in addition to the fact that it allows me to do this!" I bent over and lifted my legs into the air, walking on my hands. I went about three feet before falling backwards and going up, on my feet once again. The three members of my team clapped (Yukiya had been staring into the distant sky, not paying any attention).

"That's impressive." Lorenz nodded admiringly.

"It took a lot of scraps and bruises to be able to do it." I replied, smiling, "Now, are y'all ready to go and kick some magical butt?"

They (excepting Yukiya) cheered. I nodded, "Okay, who wants to be keeper?"

"Keeper?" Everard looked confused.

"Keeper is the fancy name for the person who guards the goal, Ever." Maegan laughed. "I'll be keeper. I like to think I have decent reflexes."

"Okay. Great. Which two want to be defense? And which too want to join me on offense-I hope you guys don't mind that I want to be on offense."

"Me and Everard will be offense with you," Lorenz said.

"It'd be 'Everard and I', mind. That leaves Yukiya and Franz as defense. You two okay with that?" They both nodded. "Okay! Places people, places!" We all went to our individual zones and waited. The other team soon did the same. We were facing Luca's team. I scanned all of his team members, looking for weak spots. I was in total game mode now. I whispered the strategies to my fellow members on offense. This was going to be a piece of pie-that is to say, easy as cake. Hehe.

After both light balls were created on the ends of two wands, Klaus blew a whistle he had conjured from somewhere, and the game began. Everard, despite being a smaller guy, made up for what he lacked in strength in awesome ninja-like dodging skills. Lorenz was an average sized guy, but stronger than he looked. We passed the ball back and forth and had made a goal in less than a minute. Luca was the opposing team's keeper. He _al-most_ got the ball, but was a second to slow to catch my throw. "Luca, you're not about to lose so easily to me, are you? That'd be boring!" I shouted at him as we got back in out positions, the other team starting out with the ball. Thanks to Everard, we managed to get it back pretty quickly. That. Kid. Is. Awesome! He passed it to Lorenz, who was in the middle of the field, who hurled it up and at me, where I was waiting closer to the goal. Before the other team's defense could reach me, I flicked the ball at a strange angle that seemed as if it would miss, but the spin I had put made it barely get into the goal-just as I had intended.

To be honest and cut out a lot of time, we won.

"Man, Ever!" I had adopted Mae's nickname for him, "You're a flippin' _ninja_!" Then I had explain what a ninja was, and it made Ever really happy to be praised, the cute kid.

"I've got a lot of older brothers, and I'm not that big-so I've learned to weave and dodge because I'd get swept away in a big crowd easily and have a lot more bruises otherwise." He was beaming.

I laughed, "That's awesome, kid. I've got a lot of older brother's too, so we're in the same boat-only I doubt your brother's girlfriends and wives try to dress you up at every possible opportunity…"

He laughed awkwardly, "Another reason I'm good at escaping from people…"

This made us all burst into laughter. I clapped them all on the back. "Y'all ready to win this next round?"

The three more talkative (Yukiya and Franz were hanging back, Yukiya looking at the sky, Franz at the ground) ones looked at the team we were about to face and their faces fell.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking over at the other team. Huh. It was Klaus' team. I wouldn't doubt that Ladyliz is just another thing he's good at.

"They've got the _Emperor_!" Ever squeaked, "he's in a different level!"

I laughed, and they all looked at me like I was crazy.

"Isn't he your buddy, Selene?" Mae asked, "Should you of all people know how scary he is...?"

I snorted, "Scary? Naw...sure he's got a bit of a sharp tongue, and is pretty rude at times, but he's not all that bad once you look a little further, past the first impression." I leaned in close and whispered, "You better not tell anybody, but I'm convinced that he's just a big softie at heart." This made Franz snort, and the other three giggle. Yukiya still wasn't paying much attention.

"I heard that." and that would be Klaus, an irritated one.

I turned around, "Pfft..I can almost _see_ the 'irk' mark on your temple Klaus!" He scowled, and I felt the three behind me retreat a bit. "You know, one day your face is going to freeze like that if you keep scowling so much!" I poked his cheek, which, really, wasn't unusual for me to do to people back home, but this seemed to confuse him-I'm pretty sure only I noticed that though.

* * *

Authoress: You know Elias, there is more to life than grades.

Elias: Authoress, I'm to busy studying to listen to you. Please leave me be.

Katalina: She's right, you know!

Elias: You of all people shouldn't be saying that, Katalina. You're grades are the lowest of the entire groups, excluding Luca.

Katalina*pouting*: Hey! Meanie!

Authoress: I probably shouldn't mention it, but that's probably because Luca's to lazy to try. But you know what, I think I'm going to pull a Selene. (Grins mischievously and snatches his textbook before running off laughing like a crazy person.)

Elias: SELENE!

Selene (popping her head into the room): Yes, baby brother?

Elias: One, I've commanded you not to call me that, and two...STOP TEACHING AUTHORESS TO ANNOY PEOPLE!

Selene *shrugs*: One, baby brother, I'm technically ranked above you as a prefect, so I can call you what I like, not that I need an excuse to do so, but oh is well, and two, I'm pretty sure 'twas I who learned these things from her through osmosis or something-she is my creator, after all. (snatches his notebook and runs off mimicking Authoress' laugh)

(Elias slumps defeated onto the desk, Katalina pats his back)

Katalina: Don't worry, bub, you've survived this since you met them. You'll survive it this time. Promise. (she gives the limp boy a hug, trying to revive his spirits) If anything, you should be glad you're not Klaus, 'cause I bet Selene pesters him more than anyone.

Elias (emotionless): At least there's that...how am I supposed to study when they've taken my stuff…?

Katalina: Well, you could spend some time with me...there is this really cute little shop in town I've been wanting to visit...care to join me…?

Elias (smiling weakly): Why not?


	33. Chapter 27

Guys, I think I'm going to go back and change the beginning at some point. I've been rereading it and now the way I started sounds...umm...in the blunt style of our beloved Goldsteins...bad. Those early chapters are childish and are a cliche style of starting of-mostly the prologue. When I wrote it, it was mostly me organizing my thoughts for this story. It was written waaaay before I figured out the basic storyline of Elemental. So I'm probably going to go back and post a new and entirely different prologue at the very least.

And, for this chapter, Klaus learns stuffs! Yay!

Chapter 27

Klaus's POV

Selene's team won. Good for them. But they weren't going to beat my team. To be honest, my team wasn't really all that great. They depended on me to make all the points. It wasn't hard-the opposing team, Elias' team, was not in sync at all. The three sisters were all fawning over Elias, and while Elias was trying to help, he was hindered by the sisters and the fact that he wasn't the most athletic person. The other two boys, the keeper and the one on offense, did their best, but couldn't stop me.

Afterwards, my team switched fields with the team that lost to Selene's. I walked over, and saw Selene and three of the others on her team were talking and celebrating. Then the three looked at my team and their faces fell-they were clearly intimidated by us. Then Selene glanced over and laughed. I began walking over to them.

"Isn't he your buddy, Selene?" the girl asked, "Should you of all people know how scary he is...?"

She snorted, "Scary? Naw...sure he's got a bit of a sharp tongue, and is pretty rude at times, but he's not all that bad once you look a little further, past the first impression." She leaned in close and whispered, "You better not tell anybody, but I'm convinced that he's just a big softie at heart." This made the bigger guy who's standing back a bit snorts, and the other three giggle-Reizen isn't paying attention, which is nothing new.

"I heard that." I was scowling. How do I come of as a "softie" to her? Does she not see me as a man…?

She turned around, "Pfft…! I can almost _see_ the 'irk' mark on your temple Klaus!" I scowled, and I saw the three behind her retreat a bit. "You know, one day your face is going to freeze like that if you keep scowling so much!" She poked my cheek, which really confused me. What is she doing…? This is not normal...she is not normal. She sniggered, having noticed my confusion. I shook my head and walked off, blowing my whistle again.

"May the best team win!" I called, before getting into position.

Selene's expression has made a complete flip, and she's now the one who looks confused. I start with the ball and charge forward. She sidesteps, looking like she's going to somehow make an attempt to stop me. I sprint past her and make it to the goal before I realize that the ball is no longer on the end of my wand. I whirl around just in time to see her shoot it past my team's keeper, who looks surprised. Wha...how did she do that…?

She smirks at me as she walks back onto her team's side. This is new-her usual goofy grin is nowhere to be seen.

Selene's POV

Another long story cut short, my team won once again. Our impeccable teamwork is the reason. "We work well together, don't we!" I high fived my fellow team members. Even Yukiya. Everyone had to work well together for us to have won-it was ten to nine (ten was the number of points needed to win in this version).

"We do!" Everard was as hyper as I was-Lorenz and Mae were excited to, but had a little more self control. You know, if I really wanted to, I could have more self-control than Klaus-but it wouldn't be nearly so much fun.

"I'll bring in cookies tomorrow for all of us! My treat!" I grinned. Even Yukiya and Franz smiled at that. We all went to our next class grinning. I had a wonderful conversation with Ever, Mae, and Lorenz.

Klaus' POV

I watched as all the students left. Soon, Elias was the only one left-he had stayed to help remove the fields before the next class. Selene had left chatting with some of the students on her team. She seems to be getting popular-not only amongst the kids in her level, but the other ones too. It seems that she's always talking with new people.

"Sometimes I almost wish that it was like early last week, when Selene didn't really know anybody and kept to the few she did." Elias sighed. "But then I remember that she's your buddy so she's not going to forget about her buddy's little brother."

"Are you serious? Out of anything, that's all you have to say?" I roll my eyes, "It doesn't matter how many friends she makes or how popular she becomes. That's her business."

"You forget that the more popular she becomes, the more people that will demand her attention every day, and the less she'll have for each." That was actually very perceptive on his part, as Elias tended to avoid social situations in the name of studying. "She's also becoming well known all around the school. I heard one of the younger students, maybe level five to six, talking about this 'awesome upperclassmen who was fireproof and a _really_ nice girl' to his friends, looking excited." That must have been the one that nearly hit her with a fireball...and cause her and Moonwalker to end up in that position...shut up brain! I don't want to have those thoughts! "And there's now rumors going around about this fire wizardess who's going to become really famous one day. Yukiya hears them too. And the two of us tend to avoid gossip and rumors."

This is surprising, even to me. I hadn't expected her to become famous in the school that fast. Well, at least I'll still get to see her...she's my buddy after all...aren't our fates supposed to be entwined…that should imply that we have to see each other often, right?

Selene's POV

It was after classes. I was as far as I could get on my anti-burn amulet...Zave had agreed to help me today after school, and so, if it worked, all I had was polishing to do. Isa and Alex wanted to join us too, (Alex happened to be good at healing spells, so he would be backup if something went wrong). Isa had volunteered to cast fire magic to see if it made a difference compared to my magic. Hopefully, I was nearly done-it was due in three days (Friday), after all. Plenty of time to fine-tune, not rework.

I went straight to Klaus' office, I knocked my knock, he said enter, and I set my stuff down before starting to clean and dust and etc. Habit. They say it takes three days to make something a habit.

Klaus didn't say a word, and neither did I-of course, I was plugged in. This time, I was listening to the song "White Rabbit", the _Nightcore_ version, though. You wouldn't usually hear me listening to this kind of music, but I like this song. "Sarcasm", the _Nightcore_ version, was pretty awesome too. Speaking of my phone, I need to call my brother's tomorrow morning.

I whispered along with the lyrics, barely audible.

" _Your magic_

 _white rabbit_

 _Has left it's writing on the wall_

 _We follow_

 _like Alice_

 _And just keep diving down the hole_

 _You can't_

 _fix your broken promise_

 _Our ties_

 _have come undone_

 _I will not be used to be battered and abused_

 _It's the reason why I choose to_

 _cut my losses_

 _Your lies_

 _fool no one_

 _Your magic_

 _white rabbit_

 _Your white room_

 _straight jacket_

 _Your magic_

 _white rabbit_

 _Has left it's writing on the wall_

 _We follow_

 _like Alice_

 _And just keep diving down the hole_

 _We're falling and we're lo-sing control_

 _Your pulling us_

 _and dragging us_

 _down this dead end road_

 _We follow_

 _like Alice_

 _And just keep diving down the hole_

 _You can't_

 _offer your poison to me_

 _In your_

 _kingdom of filth_

 _White Rabbit_

 _Straight jacket_

 _Your magic_

 _white rabbit_

 _Has left it's writing on the wall_

 _We follow_

 _like Alice_

 _And just keep diving down the hole_

 _We're falling and_

 _we're lo-sing control_

 _Your pulling us_

 _and dragging us_

 _down this dead end road_

 _We follow_

 _like Alice_

 _And just keep diving down the hole_

 _I won't be pushed aside_

 _I will be heard_

 _I will get what I want_

 _What I deserve_

 _I won't be pushed aside_

 _I will be heard_

 _I will get what I want_

 _What I deserve_

 _We're falling_

 _and we're lo-sing control_

 _Your pulling us_

 _and dragging us_

 _down this dead end road_

 _Your magic_

 _white rabbit_

 _Has left it's writing on the wall_

 _We follow_

 _like Alice_

 _And just keep diving down the hole_

 _We're falling_

 _and we're los-ing control_

 _Your pulling us_

 _and dragging us_

 _down this dead end road_

 _We follow_

 _like Alice_

 _And just keep diving down the hole_

 _Your magic_

 _white rabbit_

 _Has left it's writing on the wall_

 _We follow_

 _like Alice_

 _And just keep diving down the hole_

 _Diving down the hole!"_

Klaus's POV

I glance up as she soundlessly dances around the room. I can hear faint singing coming from her as she whispers along to the words. I hear a few words I've learned-" _magic_ " " _white_ " " _wall_ " " _rabbit_ " " _hole_ " and " _road_." I smirk and turn back to face my work. Soon I'll be able to surprise her by answering her when she accidentally speaks in _English_ again. I bet she won't be expecting that.

She taps the front of her object-a type of "phone" according to Elias. He told me what it was when we were talking earlier. It's a Terran device that can call across the boundary to Terra or Myula because of some modifications her brother made using magic. I should have asked him earlier-apparently it was something the two of them first talked about, Elias and Selene, back when they met on her train ride here.

Speaking of her first day here, when I picked her up from the train station-I remember thinking that she and Elias would be good buddies. Now, I wonder how I could have ever thought that. After everything that's happened, I'm completely enthralled by her...she still needs to take out these braids. I'll have her start that before her homework.

As soon as she pulls her "earbuds"-as Elias called them-out of her ears, I speak. "Before you start your homework, you need to take these braids out of my hair." I don't even bother looking up.

She walks over, takes a closer look at my hair, "Pfft...I can't believe that you actually left them in!" she snorts, apparently amused, "I bet the only reason you're making me do it is because you can't do it yourself!"

"You put them in, you get to take them out. It's a simple as that." I gave her a look, face clear of any emotion.

"Yeah yeah, make your excuses." She bites her lip, fighting a laugh. Why does that look tempting? Why? "What if I don't want to? What if I just want to leave them in...forever?"

I glared at her, "You will remove them, or consequences will be payed." I grabbed my wand and flicked it. Her bag disappeared. "No homework until they are all taken out."

She goes behind my and pulls one of the clear little bands out, grumbling, "You're lucky my comb is in my back pocket…" before she puts her earbuds in and starts listening to music again. Elias told me that her brother also enchanted those, so no one else could hear what she was listening to when they were in. Like Elias, I want to meet this brother of hers. Merlin, I believe Elias said his name was. Like the wizard who created the first transfer point between Myula and Terra, to allow magic to first enter Terra, and then escape back into Myula again a few hundred years later-he was said to be a wizard who had the gift of time travel. I once had a friend who was supposedly a direct descendant...but he's been dead-he was murdered-for almost five years now.

I feel her fingers undo a small braid, gently, almost like the way my mother used to play with my hair when I was younger-and still does with Elias' hair if they're just sitting somewhere and she's bored. It soothing, in a way-in another way, it makes me get a strange burning feeling in my chest. I'm going to categorize it under the "in love" category as another thing I don't really understand.

I can't focus on my work while her hands are in my hair. I can't. So I close my eyes and just wait for it to end. It has to be twenty minutes before she's done. She pulls a comb through my hair and gets a few mild tangles out. She tugs on a piece of it. "It drives me crazier, you know."

I turn around. Her earbuds are out, draped around her neck, which is otherwise bare because of her high ponytail. "What?" I'm confused, unsure of what she's talking about, a hundred different things rushing through my head.

"Your hair. It drives me crazier. It's long on top, short in the back and on the sides. You need a haircut. Have it cut to where it's all the same length! If you had it like that to begin with, I couldn't have put braids in it while you were sleeping!" She seems to realize what she's said sounds very..weird, to put it kindly, and her cheeks go ever-so-slightly pink, but her facial expression doesn't change-lips pursed a bit off to a side, cheeks a bit puffed, eyes showing a mild emotion of annoyance within them.

I turn back to my work, "I don't want to hear any suggestions for _my_ hair from you, Miss I-Wack-Off-My-Own-Hair-When-It-Gets-Annoying." I'm sure she heard the teasing in my tone. She "hmphs," tugs my hair again, and walks over to the little table, sitting down.

"Make my bag reappear. Or else I'll singe your eyebrows off." Oh, she's not _asking_ me, she's _telling_ me.

I raised an eyebrow at her, daring her to do it. "Do you really think I'd let you do that?"

"You know what, I don't need to singe them off." She flicked her wand. Nothing happened. "I could just do that." She glanced at my forehead and snickered, "Now, where's my bag?"

I rolled my eyes. She was clearly trying to bait me into arguing. Well, to bad for her. I flicked my wand and her bag once again became visible. It was always there, the spell I used just made light bend and reflect, making it appear as if it wasn't there. It's a handy camouflage spell.

She grabbed her bag and dug through it, "I'm going to have to skip training tonight." I looked up, and she was still digging through it.

"Might I ask why?"

"I'm meeting with a few friends too-"

"You're not going to go off and play until after training."

She cleared her throat loudly, "If you'd let me finish." her tone was stern, "I was going to say that we were going to test my amulet for Professor G's class. You know, the anti-burn one?" I nodded nonchalantly. That was the one she was talking about before our fight last Friday-the one she said she'd ask _Moonwalker_ for help with.

"Oh, so you're going to go test it with your little boyfriend."

This time it was her that rolled her eyes, "One, he's not little-he's a lot taller than I am, and two, he'd not my boyfriend."

Wait...What?!

Selene: Later, when I found out everything that had been going through your head, Klausy dear, I was shocked. I never would've guessed that you were "in love" with me.

Klaus: That's because I'm capable of restraining and hiding my emotions, unlike a certain someone.

Elias: Selene, in case you didn't understand his words this time, that's you.

(in the background) Katalina: Elias! That's rude!

(in the background) Elias: I'm just repeating what he said!

(in the background) Katalina: That doesn't mean you should!

Selene: I understood him very much, thank you! And I'll have you know that it's actually _very_ unhealthy to bottle up your emotions!

Klaus: I'm not bottling them up. After all, I have no hesitation showing you most of my emotions. Specifically affection. (He tugs on a lock of her hair, and she slaps his hand away, giving him a pouty glare)

Selene: You're either completely restrained or the complete opposite. Learn to live in the middle ground, the grey area. You're human, and that where humans should be. Always living extremely to one side or the other is _bad_.

Klaus (slides and arm around her waist and pulls her into him, giving her a smirk as she squirms): It's worked pretty well so far.

(from the background) Luca: Oh get a room you two!

(also from the background) Zelia: Yeah! Take your sex games somewhere else!

Selene (blushing furiously and squirming even harder groans): That's not what any of this is! And don't give him ideas, _**bakas**_!

Zelia: You're the only one that knows what that means, Lena!

Selene: Authoress! Help!

On the other side of the room.

Philyra: Speaking of Authoress, where is she? I haven't seen her in a while.

Yukiya: Yeah.

Zave (who showed up looking for Alex, because Alex needs to help him with a project for class): Oh, I forgot to mention. Authoress said she had to go back to Terra for a while she works on another story for something. She said she wasn't sure when exactly she'll be back, but it won't be too long.

Philyra and Yukiya: Oh. Okay.


	34. Chapter 28

Hey hey hey! What do I say? I say that Prologue 2.0 is done and published! You guys should go back and read it-it's _soooo_ much better now. It's not longer the cheesy piece of crap it once was! Yay!

On another note, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

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Chapter 28

I resist the urge to pinch myself. Am I really hearing this? "Really," I said, sounding like I didn't really care, "the way he acts people would assume otherwise."

She snorts, "Assumptions can kill, therefore, one should never assume."

"Interesting thought, but is it really that important? Your trial is in a week, and you need to work."

"And this project is due in three days. Plus, I've been working really hard-I can hold the tornado in place for nearly thirty minutes-exactly 29 minutes and 47 seconds. I would know. I timed it. And I've been studying really hard. I'm getting really pretty good with the history, and with the potions. The only thing that I'm really struggling with is the practical magic in several areas. Wind's getting better, fire never needed work, heat and light go hand in hand with fire, I can do a bunch of random spells that only have personal worth. My only problem is water and ice-there's some sort of block that prevents me, from what I've read about being unable to use certain kinds of magic. I borrowed a book from the library, see?" She pulls a book out of her bag, shows me, grins, and puts it back in her bag, "I rest my case."

She did make a good argument. "As long as you swear to practice, I'll let you off- _just this once_ , do you hear me?" She beamed before springing up and rushing over. She gave me a quick hug around the shoulders from the side. It's so fast that I'm not sure what to make of it. Am I imagining the faint pink in her cheeks that wasn't there prior?

"Thank yooooooou!" She goes back, grabs her bag, and heads to the door. She opens it and stands in the doorway. Slowly she turns, holding up her pointer finger. "And I'd look in a mirror before you go anywhere." She giggles and runs off.

I pick up my wand and use it to conjure up a mirror-like image. My eyes widened when they saw, not only that my hair was covered in patches of really tightly wavy patches, but that my eyebrows weren't singed off-they were the same purple color as my eyes. "FONIX!"

Selene's POV

I laugh as I run down the hall. "FONIX!" I heard his roar and surmised that he's seen his eyebrows. I picked up that trick from Merlin's friend Aaron. It's the best prank joke ever-Aaron likes to develop magical tricks and joke items, and him and and twin brother, Emmet, who are both startling red-heads, plan to open up a joke shop once they graduate in two years (they're about a year older than Merlin). He also gave me a spell that should turn a rat yellow, but it was a dud (he thought it was _really_ funny that I believed him when he said it was a real spell). [[-does this ring a bell, anyone?-]]

I feel like I'm going to pay for that later. Eh, I don't really care. I check my phone-I miss my watch. I do have one, but it's needed a new battery for ages, and as Merlin's the only one who knows how to replace it, and hasn't gotten to it yet, I just left it at home. Despite what people think, watches are easier for constantly checking the time. It's almost four. I told the three that I'd meet them at four thirty-I wasn't sure how early I'd be able to get out of training.

I have just enough time to stop by the library and find another book that might help me with not being able to use water and ice magic-using the big magical book that can magically locate the book you need, like a magically cataloging system. Elias pointed it out to me and showed my how to use it the other day, for which I'll be forever thankful.

…. …. ….

I walked out to the lake. Isa and Alex were already there, finishing up what seemed to be a picnic. The reason we chose the lake is for safety reasons-we figured that if we accidentally set someone on fire, we can just throw them into the lake. I doubt that will happen, though. Fire's the one thing I _can_ control, thank you.

"Hey guys!" I was in a good mood, as per usual.

"Hey!" Isa returned my smile, "Are you hungry? Alex packed far too much food for the two of us-I figured you could just finish it off and prevent waste!"

Yes, my appetite had become legendary amongst my new friends. They were bound to learn that I eat far more than the average person. "Wonderful. All the stuff I've been up to has really worked my stomach up."

I sat down and she handed me a plateful of banana nut muffins, and I fell back laughing. "When I said he packed too much, I was referring to the muffins." She gave me a look that told me she herself was trying _really_ hard not to laugh.

"Hey! There is no such thing as too many banana nut muffins!" Alex defended the muffins he was so obsessed with, for what reason, no one knew. Everyone just sort of accepted it as an antic of Alex's.

"Not when there isn't enough people to eat them, there is." Isa poked his side, making him jab her's in return. She squeaked and stuck her tongue out at him, causing me to laugh again.

"You're sure giggly tonight." And that would be Zave. I opened my eyes and saw him leaning above me.

"Yup!" I grinned so wide I had to close my eyes. "And for good reason!"

He sat down next to me and grabbed a muffin, pulling off the wrapper and taking a bite. " _Pray tell._ " he said once he had swallowed.

"Okay, can you guys keep a secret? Because I won't tell you if you can't-if word gets out it _might_ just cost me my life. Is this understood?" They all nodded, interested, as I sat up. I leaned forward and dramatically whispered, "I _might_ have turned Klaus' eyebrows...purple."

It was a few seconds silence before they all started laughing,and I joined in soon after. None of us could stop.

"I...can't...believe that...you turned...the Emperor's...eyebrows...purple!" Alex gasped between laughs.

I somewhat quelled my laughter, "You should. Because I did. And I'm probably going to pay dearly for it later. But it was _sooo_ worth it. That's what he gets for being a meanie! Next time, I might just singe them off instead of change their color, though. But changing their color is far more funny-hey, now his eyebrows match his eyes! Well, only for about five hours. That's when the spell wears off. But still...his eyebrows are currently purple!" This sent us all into more fits of laughter.

Eventually we all calmed down and I pulled out the little leather bag I was keeping my amulet in. I pulled it out by the chain. The amber charm, about the size of a small, flat (about a centimeter thick) clementine, shimmered in the light.

"That's pretty." Isa said.

"Thanks. I most likely won't be missing any points on appearance-but it's whether it works or not that decides how it'll suffice and _not_ murder my grade. It should absorb the fire that's shot at it, and allow the wearer-if they've magical ability-to use the magical energy like if someone was giving it to them. Any questions?"

"Are we going to start?" Zave held out his hand, smiling. I handed it to him with a smile in return.

We got up and went a little closer to the shallows of the lake, about ten feet away. Zave put the amulet around his neck, and I pulled my wand out of my waistband. I flicked it and sent a little fireball Zave's way. He flinched a little right before it hit him-only, it didn't hit him. It evaporated as soon as it was within a few inches of him. He grinned and pulled his own wand out, sending a little fire ball back at me. I batted at it like a cat, and it went out. "There's your energy back!" He smiled.

One more difference between Klaus and Zave. Zave smiles, Klaus smirks. I'm not sure why, but lately I keep making little mental comparisons between the two.

I still need to give Zave his answer. But now is not the time. I need to finish this up.

…. …. ….

After several more trials, Isa and Alex and Zave taking turns with it on, and taking turns throwing fire at the wearer. I knew what kinks needed to be fixed-it tended to heat up a lot if the magical energy stayed in it for too long, and the chain needed to be stronger-and had a few ideas on how to fix them. It was nearly curfew by the time we ended. I ran off ahead to the dorms to see if I could make it in time to snatch some food. Zave offered to go with me, but I said I could handle it and that he should hurry back to his own dorm before he got in trouble for being late.

I went straight to the kitchen upon arriving, panting a bit, and managed to procure some leftovers. I took them to my room and started my studying while I ate. Amelia had already finished her homework and was curled up on her bed in her pajamas, reading a romance novel. She was so engrossed in it I don't even think she noticed me come in.

I snuck out of my room sometime around ten-I had finished all the homework by this point-took a shower and got in my pjs, and snuck back to my room before drying my hair magically. I turned off the main light (Amelia had gone to sleep sometime while I was gone, and turned my bedside lamp on low (as low as I could and still read, that is). I grabbed from my bag the book I had checked out from the library this afternoon. It was called _Unique Magicks of Old and Forgotten Times_ and when I opened it up, a pretty bookmark floated above it.

"Hello. I am the magical guide to this book. Is there anything you wish to search for?" The voice sounded somewhat feminine.

' _Wish all reference books had one of these_.' I thought. "Umm...is there anything pertaining to a wizard or wizardess being unable to use certain kinds of magic when they excell in that magics opposite?"

"Let me see." It glowed for a moment before lowering a bit. "There are four sections related to this. Which you like to read?"

"Let's start with the first one."

"Yes." the book opened in my lap and began flipping pages all on its own. I love magic, I really do. "Here is the first section. Let me know if I am needed again." It floated down and inserted itself in a random spot in the book, towards the beginning. I looked at the title on the page. " _Tamers_ " it said.

~` _True tam'rs art one of the rarest tipes of wizards. They art able to communicateth with both animals of all s'rts, magickal 'r nay, and with dignifi'd creatures in their owneth language. They art also v'ry talent'd with p'rf'rming spells on livin' things, and bringin' things to life-which is some of the most difficult magicks to learneth if not b'rn with the ability. Oftentimes, these wizards hast troubleth p'rf'rming simple spells on non-living things 'r spells not dealing with animals-p'rf'rming magick on fellow humans may goeth awry, causing them to gain animalistic prop'rties, enwheeling tails, ears, behaviours, and yea total transf'rmation. These wizards art found rarely, and many of the few art not true tam'rs. these non-true tam'rs art not able to naturally communicateth with animals, and hast to learneth to controleth animals with willpow'r-most oft, these types of wizards art thought of as cruel f'r they wilt breaketh an animal's spirit to accomplisheth what a true tam'r couldst doeth without using magick.`~_

"As informational and interesting as that was, it's not going to help _me_." I opened to the page with the magic bookmark, and it floated up again, "Could you take me to the second section under the previous request?" It again replied yes and the book turned to a page titled " _Spellsingers and Siren's Song_ " that was somewhere in the early middle of the book.

`~ _Spellsing'rs art wizards that doeth not require a wand 'r a magickal tool to useth their magick, something akin to primal magick. They useth their voice to directeth their magical en'rgy. This talent tends to runeth in families, from parent to child. while they don't needeth a tool to useth their en'rgy, they art not able to tapeth into en'rgy from a magickal objecteth 'r useth any typeth of magical objecteth, argal, their pow'rs art limit'd to what they art able to useth with their voice._

 _Sirens art rare creatures among the m'rfolk. They possesseth unrival'd talents in spellesinging magicks, and human spellsing'rs, especially the longeth family lines of them, art descendants of a Siren and a human. These traces oft goeth backeth hundreds of years, as the magical pow'r doesn't diminish anym're aft'r two gen'rations from the halfling-the first two gen'rations hast a pow'r just less'r to the pure Siren, and aft'r those two gen'rations, it lessens a bit moo 'ere stabilizing and staying the same f'r most gen'rations aft'rwards. Occasionally, if the child of one with Siren ancestry and one with strong magickal ability comes into being, they may hast equal pow'r to that of the first two gen'rations. Most of the timeth, the line of Sirens blood only hath one, at most two, children p'r gen'ration. Unless the two art twins, only one will inh'rit the gift. both twins, on the oth'r handeth, can eith'r both inh'rit this magickal ability, 'r it can skipeth a gen'ration and passeth onto the child of one of the twins._

 _Thither is a way to useth spellsinging without being a descendant from a Siren 'r a similar magick creature with spellsinging ability-which is far moo rare than yea a siren-through the usage of arias, magick songs that can be v'ry tricky f'r n'rm'l wizards to useth.`~_

"Arias, huh...I might just learn more about those, give them a try sometime. But still, not really all that helpful. I'm not a spellsinger." I then had the bookmark take me to the third section, in the last quarter in the book. This one was labeled " _Transporters, Space, and Time_."

`~ _These wizards art rare. They art able to manipulateth the floweth of timeth and space, which in turneth allows them to make shift transporteth anywh're in any pointeth in timeth, as well as manipulateth age. These art the most dang'rous of magicks. The only magicks yea closeth to this dang'rous art true necromancy and soul magicks. Not much is known about these wizards, as v'ry few hast ev'r been rec'rd'd. The most well known one wouldst be the wizard Merlin, who us'd his pow'r to helpeth magick escapeth from one w'rld to anoth'r and backeth again. 'Tis said that Merlin still lives, keeping himself alive with his magick in ordereth to aid and teacheth oth'r wizards of this kind, so they doeth not becometh evil-because if they did, they lit'rally wouldst hast the pow'r to destroyeth existence itself. Legends sayeth that Merlin hath made sure that nary a wizard with these pow'rs doeth such, by 'rasing the ones who wouldst. the drawbacks to this typeth of magick art the risks. Time is a fragile thing, and is v'ry easily shatt'r'd. These wizards liveth high-risk lives when they chooseth to useth their magick. They changeth one detaileth and they couldst possible causeth themselves and 'r oth'rs to nay long'r existeth. They art usually unable to useth healing magicks and mem'ry magicks.`~_

"Again, interesting, not helpful. I guess I better understand my brother's namesake now." I went to the last section with the help of the bookmark-it was the last several pages of the book. " _Halflings_ " There were several sections-" _Giants_ ," " _Sirens_ ," " _Fairies_ ," " _Fae_ ," " _Nymphs_ ," and many others. A few, like Sirens, said to reference other parts of the book. The last two pages of the book was for a sections called " _Those Of Element_ "-that looked like it might have something that could possibly concern me. Please say it has something…

* * *

Katalina: Didn't you enter that amulet in the Magic Contest later that year?

Selene: Sure did. Got first place in the tools category, and tied for first overall. The other winner's piece was really well written-one of the upperclassmen entered his essay on the truths and descriptions of the phoenixian species.

Zelia: Wasn't that Klaus?

Selene: You bet it was.

Marelda: How did you even read that book? The language is so hard to decipher.

Authoress: It's just old-fashioned. It's easier if you read it aloud, if you're not well versed in it.

Zelia: Authoress! You're back! What were you working on, might I ask?

Authoress: Oh, a friend of mine, Ray, and I are working on a project. I wrote this really long, seven-page poem called "The Wanderer" and Ray is working to illustrate it. It's going to be awesome if we can pull it off. Might enter it in a contest.

Katalina: That's so cool! I could never do something that difficult.

Authoress: Katalina! You could too, if you become inspired. Heck, the whole poem was inspired, which is why I managed to write it at all. Plus, I created you. And your story isn't written yet, so I can orchestrate it how I wish. Who knows, you could be brilliant.

Katalina: But you already know the basic plotline for my story...and it's not even in my point of view!

Authoress: Still! Speaking of your story, I need to start working on that, since it happens at the same time in the first major arc of Elemental, I need to post those chapters at about the same time, and the time in the story is approaching and… (walks off mumbling plans)

Philyra: Poor Authoress. She's got so much stuff to work on, for us and school and such.

Selene (laughing): You think it's bad now? Just wait until next year-she's an 11th grader in Terra. They have a really big test in the spring. Not to mention that she's also going to be taking three english classes. She's really scared that all the writing she'll have to do for those classes will cut out her free-writing time. I think it'll be dramatically reduced, sure, but she'll find a way. Besides, she still has the entire summer to get ahead. And the rest of this semester to boot-as long as she keeps her grades up, that is.

Philyra (*sighing*): Poor, poor Authoress...


	35. Chapter 29

Guys, I'm so, so sorry this is a bit late. Yesterday was just a dreadful day for me. At this point, the only reason I'm not heading off to live with my mother is because I love my school and my friends. Those are literally the only reasons. I won't say any more, so without further ado: Enjoy!

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Update: April 23, 2017

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Chapter 29

Under " _Those Of Element_ " there were a few different sections—" _Elemental Fairies,_ " " _Dragons,_ " and " _True Elementals_." It was the last one, the shortest one, was the one that really caught my eye.

`~ _Lit'le is known about true Elementals. We knoweth no more than they wanteth us to knoweth. They liveth almost solely in anoth'r world, coming into our world and oth'rs when they wisheth. They art oft known as Phoenixes. They art lit'ral Creatures of Element. They hast three f'rms that they can taketh and useth, Elemental, Humanoid, and Animal. Thither art diff'rent fact'rs that determineth each. From what we knoweth and what we've been able to gathereth, Elemental is det'rmin'd by bloodline, Humanoid is det'rmin'd by mindset, and Animal is det'rmin'd by p'rsonality—th'ref're, Humanoid and Animal can changeth, from what we can telleth. They don't seem to be abl' to useth magick oth'r than those dealing with their element. We knoweth lit'le else, and a halfling of an elemental and a human is more rare than any oth'r kind of halfling, and we hast no document'd rec'rds of them.~`_

That rings a bell—triggers something inside me...what, exactly, I don't know. I feel like it's important. As in, _really_ important. I ask the bookmark to go to that page so I can use it again tomorrow. I think I'll show it to Klaus tomorrow. But for now, it's nearly one in the morning. Good night, reader.

Unknown POV (But we'll eventually know who it is.)((p.s. when words are **bolded** it means it's being spoken in a language that isn't Terran or Myulan))

She's on a bed, most likely her dorm bed, reading. I do not know why, but I feel as if I needed to check on her. I manipulate the magic on the mirror, and look onto the page she's reading. She's focusing on the bottom section, labeled " _True Elementals._ "

She's trying to figure out why she can't use magics of ice and water. I know because I've been keeping a closer eye on her lately—I have a feeling of foreboding, one that I can't shake. She's going to figure out what she is sooner or later. I hope it's later, as far away of a later as can be. She's safer not knowing. I have hope, as she doesn't know what I am. She's thinks I'm human. That should keep her safe for a while longer—but she's a smart girl, and will eventually start to make connections, especially if she has help from that purple-eyed friend of hers, the older one. The one she's always around for at least part of the day, the one who teaches her how to use more magics.

The light coming from the mirror dims, she's turned the light by her bed off. She goes under her covers, curled into a ball. I see the night version, the ash colors, of Blayze as he swoops down onto her balcony railing. Guarding her during the night. Her other, her new, guardian, remains hidden. Good. She mustn't know about her. The new one must protect silently, hidden until needed.

I hear loud footsteps approach the door to my workshop. I wave my hand over the mirror, clearing it. I hurry to throw the cover over it—the one that hides it—and look as if I'm intently working on something. The door flies open, banging on the wall, making me jump, nervously.

" **Cadeyrn! You lazy man! What has been taking so long with my order?!** " It was him. Faelan. My current employer.

" **It is coming along, sir. These things take time, especially when they are so delicate.** " I responded, " **It's only a few steps away—it's cooling to allow full strength. Then I must temper it a few more times and it shall be done. It should be done by next week.** "

" **Get it done as soon as you can! I need it before any of my subordinates get any ideas!** "

" **I assure you, mi'lord, they won't. They are loyal to you.** "

He shakes his head, as if I'm a little child who doesn't understand. Oh, if only he knew how much I do. " **I forget that you rarely leave this room. You don't know the goings on of the court. There are always plots against the king, and the king needs his magic—and you know that I need something to release it.** " He lowers his voice, " **Unlike many of my kind, I'm restricted in the magic I am able to use anymore. I'm growing old, and it'll only be seven or eight cycles before I'll have to pass this burden onto my son and die.** "

" **I know, mi'lord. I know all too well. That's why you have me.** " I said, my voice as low as his.

He looks at me, a hint of gratitude visible in his eyes, his smile was hidden under his thick, grey beard, " **I know, old friend. You're one of the few people I know to be truly loyal. If I could nullify the command of the Paladin that keeps you from those you love, I would. You of all people don't deserve to be confined to this world. How is she?** "

I smile softly, " **She's doing quite well. She's going to a school in Myula now. She seems happy enough. I'm worried, though—several days ago her seal came as close as it ever had to breaking without doing so. She seems fine now, but I can't help but worry. And when I checked earlier, she was reading a book in bed. The section she was on was 'True Elementals'. She's going to find out who she is eventually.** "

" **She is quite the clever girl. Would it be such a bad thing if she did?** "

" **It would make her far less protected. Her kind are rare, and is sought after because of their unique...abilities. She can use fire magic beyond any human, she's slowly gaining control over her wind, she'll maybe even eventually learn she spellsinging, and she's able to use most normal magic, or, she'll learn to. The only things she can't use is water and ice, her natural enemy. But if one of our kind found her, who knows what they'd do.** "

" **Don't worry, old friend. You've been careful, and she's well able to defend herself—she'll be fine.** "

" **I hope so…** "

" **I also have a favor to ask of you. My great-nephew is visiting soon, and he wishes to study your craft. He says it might be something he'll go into. He's not yet decided what he's going to do with his life, and it's worrisome. He tries a variety of things and is always traveling. Would you mind if he stayed with you for a while?** "

I was taken aback. Usually, Faelan was the only one I tolerated in my workshop for extended periods of time. He was the only one I trusted to know about Selene. " **It would mean not being able to keep an eye on her…** "

His eyes were pleading, " **I beg you, old friend. Please.** "

I sighed. Might as well accept now before he made it a royal order and I was stuck. " **Alright. But I have a few conditions. One, he isn't allowed to be in the workshop when I'm not here. Two, he's not allowed to be in the workshop after sunset or before sunrise. I can't risk him finding the mirror or seeing me use it—keeping an eye on her is more important than ever.** "

" **I understand. Those are reasonable requests. I thank you.** " the elderly man seemed to be much more relaxed, " **He'll be here in a day or so, he's not sure how long it'll take him to get from Ishsathas to here.** "

I bowed, " **Yes, mi'lord.** " He nodded and left the room.

This is going to be troublesome, but I owe him a good deal...he has provided me a workspace and a place to live for sixteen years now.

Selene's POV

" _Selene, darlin', come here._ " My mother said, patting her bed, inviting me to come and sit with her. Somehow, she was alive, somehow, I was back home, and somehow, I didn't care how.

" _Yes, mama?_ " I walked over and climbed up on the bed. Even at sixteen, her bed was really high up. " _Why're you here?_ " I was confused. My mother had been dead for several years.

She put her arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. I automatically snuggled into her warmth. I took a deep breath—it was mom, she always smelled like almonds and brownies, even if she hadn't been around either for a long time. " _I cannot say, darlin'. But my, how you've grown!_ " She stroked my hair like she always did when I was little, " _You're nearly a woman_." Her smile seemed almost sad, tears sparkling in her eyes.

" _Not really mama, I still have a lot of growing up to do. I miss you so much...I still need my mama_."

She took my face in her hands and kissed my forehead before wrapping her arms around me again. I felt like a little kid again. " _I'm so sorry, darlin'. So, so sorry. I never wanted to leave you and your brothers, but it was my time. I've been watching over you though, all of you. You're going to a proper school, you've made friends...and even gained a few admirers, haven't you?_ "

" _Mama…_ " I buried my face in her shoulder, " _I don't know what to do...I like Zave, but not in a romantic way, and I know that even if I turn him down he'll still be my friend and all...but I'm still scared...and confused...and...and then there's Klaus...being with him confuses me in a strange way I don't understand...but it's a different kind of confusion than the one I feel with Zave...and..._ " I couldn't continue. She rubbed my back like she always used to do when I was upset.

" _Darlin', love is the most confusing of all emotions. It has an infinite amount of possibilities, infinitely different kinds. But the truest loves are the ones that can survive, the ones that are put through the refiner's fire of trial over and over again and just keep becoming stronger. Your heart will guide you, if you listen to it properly._ " I inhaled again. She was right. " _Not even the dead can see the future. But I have a feeling it'll all work out in the end_."

I lifted up my head and smiled. " _You're absolutely right, mama. See, this is why I still need my mama!_ "

She laughed, " _Well, darlin', you would've figured it out on your own sooner or later. You're a clever girl_."

" _Not really...I'm pretty silly most of the time…_ "

" _You can be silly_ and _clever, you know. Your father was._ "

" _Could you tell me about him?_ "

" _No, my darlin', I can't. He'll have to tell you it all himself someday_."

" _Do you mean I'll get to see him in a dream, too?_ "

I couldn't quite place the look in her eyes, " _I cannot say more. My time is nearly up, anyway, and I want you to meet someone._ "

I was curious, " _Who, mama?_ "

The bedroom door opened and a man who looked remarkably like and older Merlin—the same warm brown eyes the color of rich hot chocolate, with hair to match, and a fair complexion and ears that stuck out just enough to be endearing—came into the room, smiling the same gentle smile as Merlin. He was followed by a smiling boy, maybe about my age, who looked more like my mother than any of my siblings, with the blond hair, silver eyes, and dimples. The boy stayed in the doorway.

" _Hello, Selene,_ " the man said. " _I'm your brothers' father. I'd tell you my name, but you already know it._ "

I was just a bit awed. Just a bit. " _You're...holy, you're...wow. Just wow. You know_ ," I giggled just a bit, " _I almost thought you were Merlin when you walked in._ "

He smiled, sadness clear in his eyes, " _I do wish I had gotten to meet him. He's grown into a fine young man. And that's some strange talent he has, no?"_

" _Tell me about it._ " I grinned. He was a lot like Jonathan in personality—my oldest brother was the closest thing I myself have ever had for a father.

" _I'm Ry, by the way._ " The boy said, his smile wide and his eyes sparkling with excitement, " _Nice to finally meet you, Selene._ "

" _Nice to meet you, too?_ " I felt like I should know who he is, but couldn't quite remember.

" _Dear, time's running out._ " My mother looked at her first husband, silently telling him something.

"Y _ikes...I of all people should know that. Anyway, Selene, at some point in the future you'll come across a good friend of mine. He'll know my name, be using it, in fact. Don't tell him anything you know about me, but get him to take you to our old practice grounds, the one now sown with my favorite flowers. Once there, find the biggest tree and climb it. In a hollow hidden by magic there's a box. Find it, and thoroughly explore its contents in secret. Once you understand everything, there's a few people you'll need to tell it all to. It's really important, okay? Make...sure...you…_ " I couldn't hear anything anymore and the scene was slowly fading, everything turning white. I tried to cry out for my mother, but I couldn't make a sound. The last thing I felt was the pressure of lips on my forehead.

* * *

Selene (sulking in a corner, trying not to cry)

Katalina: Is she okay?

Marelda: She misses her mother. Let her have her pity party. If she's not snapped out of it by the next chapter, then we need to be worried. Until then, leave her be.

Klaus (enters the room and goes over, swinging Selene over his shoulder where she hangs like a ragdoll): Either you snap out of this or I'm throwing you in the lake. There are cookies in the kitchen that Yukiya made so cheer up. (Carried her off as she groans)

Katalina and Marelda (sweatdrop): Seriously?

Zelia (who popped out of nowhere): That's the Emperor for you. But I think it's sweet in its own way—he hates seeing her said and/or depressed.

Katalina: He really does care about her.

Marelda: What he doesn't understand though, is that sometimes need to be sad to be able to fully enjoy the happy times.

Zelia and Katalina: Wow. Deep.

Marelda: Don't you know that I'm as deep as bedrock?


	36. A Tale of a Sleeping Beauty

Okay guys, this is a special fairytale chapter that is pretty much my birthday present to myself (go April Fools' birthdays!). I had fun with it, and probably spent way too long on it but oh is well because you guys get a Elemental spin off and I get to be satisfied that this things is out of my head. Plus, you guys get somewhat of an idea who I've made the eldest Goldstein brother, whom I've named Percy. Enjoy~!

(Note: ages and such and whatnot will be ( _very_ ) skewed, so I'd just pay attention to the storyline. :)

* * *

Sleeping Beauty

Once upon a time (because that's the way every fairy tail should start right?).

Just kidding. This isn't much of a fairy tale, sorry. It's somewhat similar, but not.

This particular story is about a young girl by the name of Selene. Selene was the strange, yet adored child of the smaller town of Michigan, in the country of Terra. No one really knew her history, other than the fact that one night, her heavily pregnant mother stumbled into town the eve of the Winter's Solstice. The town healer, Cynthia, and her husband, taking pity, took the young woman in, making her comfortable as she soon began her labor.

Before dawn the next morning, her babe was born-a smiling little female with peculiar eyes that were silvery grey, with flecks of gold and bronze. Soon after dawn, the mother was dead, leaving only a little waterproof bag with a few things in it, and a blonde girl named Selene.

Selene was raised by the villagers, helped them with their chores, played with the other children, and she was a downright joy to have around, with her wicked sense of humor and ever-smiling lips. She was an oddity, with her past being so clouded and unknown, but she never felt like an outsider. She accepted that she couldn't know anything more, and so did everyone else. Besides, who'd want to isolate such a lovely girl-child?

As she grew older, she learned all that she could, from whoever she could. She loved learning new things, whether it be healing, the blacksmith's art, weaving, herding, farming, or singing and dancing. She taught herself to read from the local wiseman's books, and learnt maths from the shopkeepers and passing merchants. She listened and asked questions.

In her opinion, she couldn't complain-there was to much to learn, to see. She was content, and felt that to whine or feel sorry for herself would be a discredit, a disgrace, to the wonderful town that had taken her in and raised her. Other towns would've left such a girl to die, having a dead stranger for a mother. But this town felt like they were given a chance to help someone, and took it, much to Selene's gratitude.

Now, our story takes place early in her seventeenth summer. There was a noble family, from the neighboring country of Myula, on their way to visit relatives. They stopped in this "quaint little town" for a few days, as both the mother and youngest child of the family were weary of travel. While the family was to stay for only a few days, the youngest took ill with a fever, which the local healer Cynthia said was due to exhaustion and constant travel more than anything, and they decided to stay a while longer.

It was rare that any nobles, let alone a Duke and his family, even crossed this small town, so there was much talk. The family went by the name of Goldstein, and consisted of five members: the Duke, Sir Walter Goldstein, his wife, and his three sons-Percival, the oldest at age twenty-one, a light brown haired and eyed boy who looked very much like his mother, Klaus, aged nineteen, and Elias, aged 9 (the last two both light blond and violet-eyed, the spitting images of their father).

Selene, like the rest of the town, was curious about the newcomers, but thought it rude to go bug them, especially when there was work to be done. She was quite decent at controlling her curiosity, at least to a further extent than most of the other youth in the town, and didn't see any of the noble family until three days after their arrival.

She was halfway up the tallest sassafras tree in the area, gathering the purest leaves she could find-they helped counter the bitterness of the nasty herbal teas Mrs. Cynthia brewed, the ones that worked enough to keep being brewed-because Mrs. Cynthia's stores were running low again. She was in scandalously short skirts that went all the way up to her knees, though she wore leggings beneath it. She used such skirts when she had to climb trees, to gather leaves or fruit and whatnot, or when she participated in running races at the festivals. She had gathered a good amount and put them in the little bag she wore around her neck, and was most of the way down when…

"Hello up there!"

She started, causing her foot, which was about to place itself on the next branch down, to slide down, causing her to yelp begin to fall. She didn't notice that her wrist smacked against a branch on the way down. She braced herself, preparing to hit the ground, only to be caught by something that was most definitely not the ground. She hesitantly opened her eyes to see a strange, but handsome man, perhaps four or five years older than her, with brown hair and twinkling brown eyes. "Oh, uh, hello…" she said awkwardly.

"Hello yourself. Are you alright?" He asked.

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm perfectly fine...could you, uh, put me down now?"

"Oh!" He carefully set her down, "Sorry about that. It's not every day such a beautiful girl literally falls for me."

"Thank you…?" The confused look on Selene's face made him laugh.

"Can I ask who you are? I don't think I've seen you around the town."

"My name is Selene. Could I haphazard a guess that you're one of the visiting nobility?"

"I guess that would be pretty obvious." He laughed at himself. He was wearing finer clothes, though they were simple, than she'd ever had the luck to see. He made a bow, "Percy Goldstein at your service, mi'lady. Does the Lady Selene have a last name?"

"A lady I am not, I beg your pardon, m'lord. I have no surname that I know of. I was gathering herbal leaves for my foster mother, the Healer Cynthia." She attempted a curtsey but winced as her wrist smarted, she looked and sighed, "Lovely."

"You're hurt!" Lord Goldstein rushed up to her, grabbing her hand and inspecting her wrist.

She waved him away with her undamaged hand, "It'll be merely a bruise and gone in a week or so. I've suffered far worse falling from trees. Well, m'lord, I should be going. I promised I'd be back by midday." She did a little bow and went to go take her little woodland path back to the village, but he stopped her.

"Let me take you back. It is my fault you fell, I startled you after all."

She shook her head, smiling, "'Twas my fault for being startled. I can manage."

"It's no trouble, I insist." At this point Selene could see it was pointless to argue.

She sighed, shaking her head with a smile, "If you persistently insist so, I guess I cannot say no."

"Wonderful!" He grinned, and Selene returned it-he was very friendly, for a noble. She'd never met one, but she heard from merchants passing through town that they were usually all high and mighty, acting better than everyone else. Perhaps this one was the exception that proved the rule. He took her uninjured hand in his and led her towards the main path, a little ways off. From her guess, he'd gotten curious when he saw a girl in a tree. It wasn't often you saw a girl her age climbing trees like a child. As they approached, she saw that there were two gorgeous horses, one with a rider, one without.

"Percival? Is that you? What did you run off to do this time?" A regal voice sighed. It was the rider, golden hair glinting in the sun as he turned his violet eyes to see his brother come back with a shorter (she only came up to Percy's shoulders) blond girl in ridiculously short skirts (what respectable girl wears skirts that go all the way up to their knees?) in tow.

"Hello brother, it seems I've found a nymph." Percy was one for joking. It took all Selene had not to snort-that'd be rude, in front of nobility.

"Then leave it in it's natural habitat." Klaus rolled his eyes. His brother was strange, and far too carefree to be a first son. In his opinion, his older brother needed to grow up and stop flirting and forever running off to satisfy his childish curiosity.

"Alright, I lied. It's one of the townsgirls, and I made her fall out of a tree and hurt her wrist. I'm being a proper gentleman and taking her back to town." Percy said cheerfully, "So deal with it. Lady Selene, this is my younger brother Klaus, though feel free to call him Stuffy."-at that, Selene covered a snicker with a light coughing-"Klaus, this is Lady Selene." Klaus nodded, inwardly rolling his eyes at his brother.

"I did tell you I'd be fine...it's just a bruise…" the girl sighed vainly, as if she knew that Klaus' pigheaded brother wouldn't listen. Interesting. Most girls would be giggling and chittering receiving such attention from Percy.

"Now then! Let's get going. After you, mi'lady." He held out his hand to help her onto the horse. Klaus suspected she only took it to be polite, from the resigned mutter of "I also said I'm not a lady…" that came from her lips, which his brother also ignored. This girl wasn't anything like a lady, but nor was she like all those country bumpkins. If anything, she seemed as if she'd rather not be here, but walking back. How many girls would rather walk back than ride with a handsome and charming young nobleman, country girl or highest noblewoman?

She sat sidesaddle, but Klaus saw something in pass through her eyes-she'd rather ride like a man. Curious. Percy swung himself up behind her, making sure she was comfortable as she gripped the saddle horn. Taking the reigns, Percy put his horse into motion, and Klaus did the same. They were going much slower than they had before, at a mild trot.

"So Lady Selene, are you the apprentice of Healer Cynthia?" Percy inquired.

"Not really. She's the one who raised me, but I do various things all around town."

"So you're what they call a 'jack of all trades' then?"

"Pretty much. I do what needs to be done. Help the healer, weaver, shopkeepers, innkeeper, farmers, tend children, cook. I go where needed."

"That sounds like a lot of work for such a delicate maiden."

"It's enjoyable. And while I'm not so sure about how delicate I look, looks can be deceiving. I am eighteen next winter." Was she really? thought Klaus, she didn't look that old. In all honesty, she looked no older than fifteen.

"Then you must forgive me-I thought you were fifteen, sixteen at most." Percy laughed, shaking his head. The girl shrugged like it didn't matter.

"Might I ask of your youngest brother? The one with the fever? He's the reason your family stayed in town, is he not?"

"Yes, his name's Elias. He's doing much better, thanks to the healer. Though he did say he could do without the teas she makes him drink."

The girl shuddered, making a face that resembled Elias' expression when he had to drink the aforementioned teas, "I can sympathize. Those bitter herbal teas are downright nasty, but I can't argue that they do help. Tell him I said it's better to let it cool, plug your nose, and gulp them as fast as you can, following it with a glass of honeyed lemon water."

"Will do, mi'lady." Percy laughed. "Speaking of teas, my brother Stuffy over there is what you might call a 'tea connoisseur', if you can believe it. He makes the best tea I've ever had, and a variety of them too. Seeing Elias have to drink such a foul brew nearly kills him." This seemed to interest the girl, who turned her gaze to Klaus, who's been listening silently while appearing not to care.

"So even nobles have certain things they won't let people do for them. Interesting. I thought nobles made their servants do most of everything for them. Then again, I'ven't met many nobles." The girl-Klaus didn't wish to think of a commoner by name-seemed amused.

"I make my own sheerly because no one else makes it correctly." Klaus said, not taking his eyes off the horizon, and keeping his tone deadpan. She snickered. Strange child.

Percy continued to talk with the girl until they reached the village, where Percy promptly jumped off and helped her down. She thanked him, did a little bow, and scurried off in the direction of the healer's home. Klaus got down from his own horse and led it towards the stables by the inn, as Percy did the same.

"She's quite the interesting woman, if I do say so myself." Percy was over-perky in Klaus' opinion. "And she was very pretty, more so, I dare say, than a good number of the noblewoman we interact with. Did you see her eyes? I've never seen the like-silver, they were, with flecks of bronze and gold!"

"When will you stop flirting with every female, common, noble, or otherwise, you cross? You need to stop being so carelessly…" Klaus struggled for the proper word as they handed the reins of their horses to the only stablehand, "Frivolous."

Percy elbowed his younger brother, "Perhaps-but only if you loosen up a little. You could do with some flirting yourself, Master Stuffy. You set a poor example of social skills for our dear little bookworm of a brother."

"Shut up, Percival. Shut up."

…. …. ….

But Percy's words did strike something in him, bugging him relentlessly, _especially_ whenever he saw that girl-this was a small town, and she seemed to be _everywhere_. Playing with the children in the streets, pumping the bellows for the blacksmith, bustling around as a waitress in the tavern, organizing things for the shopkeepers, talking with anybody and everybody, bringing the teas and medicines for Elias-everywhere. And everyone seemed to love her. His own parents met her, and liked her. She was distracting. Whenever she was in the room, no one could help but gravitate to her, and Klaus was no exception, though he did it far more subtly. He avoided her best he could, because he needed to focus, on his studies and such, and he couldn't with her around. He did his best to ignore her, telling himself that she was some random, unimportant commoner girl who shouldn't- _didn't_ -matter to him.

But after they were there three weeks, they were preparing to leave when they were warned that there was going to be a nasty summer storm the next day, and it took two days of swift travel to reach the next town. The healer stressed that it would be a bad idea, since Elias was only just better from his fever and sickness, and it might cause him to relapse. Their father decided they were going to stay and wait out the storm and muddy roads, since the farmers predicted that the storm would last two days, then would end. It would take at least two more days for the roads to dry up again enough for carriages and wagons.

And it was a good thing they did stay, for a thick, heavy, oppressive fog rolled in that evening, it it was impossible to see more than a few feet in each direction. It was clear that it would be followed by heavy rains by the next morning.

Sitting in the tavern of the inn, the Goldsteins took their supper. While outside was naught but fog, inside the tavern there was a roaring fire and a cheery atmosphere. Well, mostly. Oftentimes, on crowded nights like this, Selene helped out the family that ran the inn, serving food and taking orders. Only, instead of the bright and energetic girl that usually bustled around the room and balancing an impossible amount of orders and meals as she slid along smoothly among the tables, there was a dreary, blank-faced girl who was sluggish in her movements walked around and did the same job.

Tapping the shoulder of one of the young boys rushing around the room with water jugs, Percy asked him of that dreary girl, "Might I ask what is wrong with Lady Selene? She's normally so full of life."

The boy shrugged, "Miss 'Lena always gets like this with bad weather. She doesn't like it-says it's a 'wretched, rotten joke of nasty _blech_ played by mother nature' when you ask her about it." He giggled at his attempt to mimic her tone, "She'll be back to normal the next time the sun comes out." He bowed and continued on his way.

"Interesting." Percy said, looking thoughtful, "So there is something that makes her depressed. Up until now, I thought that impossible!"

"Percy, just eat your dinner." Klaus sighed.

"Klaus, just loosen up." Percy sighed dramatically in return.

Elias giggled at his brothers and continued eating his cherry cobbler.

…. …. ….

' _I've found you. You're mother hide you well, but she couldn't prevent your fate.' The most hair-raising laughter sounded from this unknown person. Selene couldn't even tell if it was male or female._

' _Who are you?' She cried, 'What do you want?'_

 _Selene saw a spinning wheel, one that looked like it was made from sticks from the forest ground, it's wheel spinning slowly, a little light glinting off the sharp tip of a needle that could pierce through her skull and some out the other side._

' _Revenge…' The wheel burst into flaming shards an_ d Selene bolted up in her cot, panting as a crack of thunder literally shook the house. Her clothes were sticky with nightmare-sweat. She shook her head, strands that had come loose from her braid tickling the sides of her face. She rarely dreamt, and had never had such a chilling, haunting dream that had felt so... _real_. Like it was going to happen.

She also had the most ominous feeling that seemed to have nothing to do with the nightscare. Something bad was coming. She knew it. The rain that pattered on the roof did not sooth her-if anything, it made the dread increase. She slid out of bed and pulled on her shoes. She didn't remember where her rain-cover-cloak was, and grabbed a cloth, tying it over her mouth, so she wouldn't feel as if she was drowning in the heavy rain. Standing at the doorway to the house, she stared at the rain, then began to run, following the instinctual feeling of danger to it's source. There was a light towards the center of the town, far too bright to be a lantern or hearth fire.

Only freezing a moment at the sight of the fire spreading on the roof of the tavern, she ran straight up the steps of the bell tower, slipping in the wet. She grabbed the rope and began to pull with all her might; the large town bell was heard above the storm, and people came rushing out of their homes. The only time that bell rang when it was night time was when raiders struck-or when there was a fire. The roofs of the wooden in were oiled to shed the rain-oil that created a fire that the rain wasn't putting out. There were exclamations of panic, and people were stumbling out of the burning building-this was a busy time of year, when all sorts of merchants and traveling folk were passing through.

Selene stopped ringing the bell-enough were up. She doubted anyone was still sleeping. Hurrying down the steps and to the crowd, her instincts took over and she started directing the confused people, using lungs that were strong from all her useage of them, "The wet won't put it out! Get mud! Smother it! Move move MOVE!" That was all the people needed to start getting buckets and shovels. The older boys were scaling the walls of surrounding buildings, passing up buckets of mud to slop over the roof of the inn. People went into action.

Selene went around to those who had been staying in the inn, seeing if anyone was missing. She got head shakes and "no"s mostly. She reached the nobles, who were standing to the side. The lady was sobbing into her husband's arms as the older son, with much effort, held back his brother who was trying to go towards the inn. The youngest wasn't there.

"My baby's still inside!" The woman wailed, "Elias! He's not out yet!"

Selene met eyes with the terrified mother and nodded, running towards the building, ducking and dodging the arms of people who tried to stop her. Reaching the open door she darted in, jumping around the burning bits and running up stairs that were falling apart. She ran through the hallways to the section where the Goldstein's were quartered. There was a child crying. She came up to a doorway that was blocked by a burning support beam that had fallen. The sobs came from inside.

There was a part towards the middle of the beam that was nearly burned through. Selene brought her heel down and it broke, leaving her ankle throbbing. Her clothes were nearly dried from the heat as she went towards the source of the non-fire noise, sobs broken by coughs. There was a little blond boy curled up, rocking and terrified, in the closest, which had yet to be touched by the flames. She yanked the door open, "Up child! We must get out!" Little violet eyes turned to face her and he nodded. She pulled the cloth from over her mouth and deftly tied it over his own: he'd breathed in far more smoke than she. Scooping him up in her arms-he was small for a boy of near nine-she began running back the way she came, which was far more treacherous than she'd left it. She felt the boy's muffled sobs against her shoulder, his arms tightening around her shoulders, as she jumped down the stairs.

She's nearly made it out the door when there was a flash. Throwing the boy out the door and into the mud, a crack of thunder and wood went simultaneously, and she stumbled forward as the building just behind her cracked, and a flying piece of wood smacked her in the head, making Selene Surnameless collapse into the darkness.

…. …. ….

Klaus couldn't even thank the girl who saved his little brother, the person he cared about more than anything else, the girl who went into a burning building only to have it collapse on her as she was almost in the clear.

The girl his older brother was carrying to the healers home, the girl with blood smeared from the rain oozing down her forehead. The girl who was alive, but not conscious. Only the healer could tell them how badly she was hurt. Klaus was carrying Elias, who was covered in mud and whimpering into his shoulder.

"What's happening?" The woman in the doorway of the healer's home had two children behind her, who were asking questions in a sleepy mumble. "I heard the bell. Fire or raiders?" She saw Selene in Percy's arms and gasped, "What happened?"

"Later. She's injured." Klaus had rarely heard Percy sound so serious, so much like the noble he actually was. He was usually so laid back it was easy to forget sometimes.

The healer nodded stiffly, "Bring her in."

They followed the woman into her house and Percy gently set Selene on a cot that was near the door. Her eyelids fluttered and she groaned. The healer rushed over with some clothes and gently dabbed away the blood, searching for the wound. There were scratches all over the girl, though, strangely, no burns.

Elias buried his face deeper into his brother's shoulder. He hated the sight of blood.

The woman's brow furrowed as she discovered a long, shallow slice that went from the hairline to a few inches back on her adoptive daughter's head. While she went and pulled out a needle and some thread, Percy began relaying the events.

"She's a hero. Not only did she wake everyone up, but she went in for Elias, too." Percy gestured to his youngest brother who was still shivering in Klaus' arms, "We owe her more than we could ever repay her."

Cynthia nodded, smiling softly as she pulled another stitch, "And she'll more'n likely reject any thanks, saying anyone would've done it. Now, Glaven," she spoke to her oldest son, who was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, "get these men some blankets and put some water on the fire." The boy nodded and rushed off.

Selene slowly came back to awareness as the healer finished tying the knot. "Cynthia…?" She mumbled, looking dazed. Cynthia cupped the girl's face with her hand.

"Yes, dear?"

"I'm glad I woke up after the stitches. Stupid needles."

Cynthia laughed, sounding relieved. To the confused look on the faces of the others in the room, she said, "The girl hates having to see or feel needles go into skin. Gives her the shivers." Turning back to the out-of-it girl, "From what I can tell, you just need some rest and you'll be fine. Now, drink this and go to sleep, you here?" Galven came over, balancing a cup. Selene wrinkled her nose, before pinching it and drinking the bitter herbal brew in a few gulps. She shuddered and handed the cup back. The strong sleeping herbs that were in it immediately began to take effect and her eyes drooped. She got up and stumbled towards her room in the back of the house.

"Now, if you'll let me see the boy. He's probably inhaled a good deal of smoke." With some gentle words she got the boy to release his brother and sit on a stool so she could begin her inspection.

…. …. ….

Selene slept through the next day, and the next. Klaus kept stopping by to see if she was awake, but she was fast asleep each time. His excuse to others was that he had to thank her for saving Elias, but he'd knew he was lying, despite that being partially the truth. There was a deeper reason. One he could barely admit to himself, much less to you, reader (no offense intended).

It was early evening, and everyone was out and about, no one home when he came to check on Selene again. He'd stopped referring to her as "that girl" in his head. Selene's adoptive family was out bringing food to those who were working on repairs to the inn, which had half burned down. A good chunk of personal belongings had been saved, but it was overall unstable inside, only the lightest of the boys and older girls daring the upper floors. He went inside after knocking and hearing no answer, heading straight to the back room where Selene had her small bedroom. She wasn't there. The bed wasn't made, but she was no longer lying in it. There was a small back door that lead from her room to directly outside, and it was open, rocking back and forth slightly in the gentle wind what was outside.

Klaus ran out of it, to see the last sliver of white disappear into the woods right behind the house. These woods were thicker than the majority-the fairies' woods, a townsperson had mentioned. Only those who were very brave or foolish went too deep into them.

The nightgown someone had changed Selene into at some point was white. Klaus took off at a brisk pace, determined to catch up. Fairies were mere tales. This was just an old forest, nothing more. It was an easy trail to follow-he'd been hunting enough, and was a decent tracker. But she wasn't doing anything to hide her path-which was odd, because she normally left no trace because of the light way in which she walked, practically prancing around. Perhaps it wasn't her. But he might as well make sure. The strange things he'd heard about the woods kept echoing in his head-people disappearing and not coming back, people who were drawn in like they were in a trance and never seen again, others coming back half-mad and terrified, babbling about magic creatures and terrifying beasts, people who weren't fully human. Curse Percy for asking so many questions.

"Selene?" He called, "Are you nearby?" There was no answer, and he sped up, being careful with the signs left behind. He'd been going in deeper and deeper for over an hour, and swore to himself that he wasn't lost. The woods got dark before the open areas from the thick tree cover, and Klaus found himself wishing he'd thought to grab a lantern. But there was a dim grey glow that seemed to come from the wood itself, and a white scrap of cloth caught on a tree branch shone like a light, stark against the wild rosebush it was tangled in. Klaus yanked it out, pulling a few thorns with it, and promptly got scratched. He cursed and pulled the thorns out, dropping them back in the bush. He started again. He had to admit to himself he was hopelessly lost.

"Are you looking for her?" Said a voice, "The light-haired human girl with the constant smile?"

Klaus whirled around, "Who's there?!" He demanded.

"Someone who owes her a debt. Answer the question." The voice sounded uninterested, like a bored young man, for all that it was so quiet Klaus had to strain to hear it.

"Yes. I'm trying to find the girl named Selene. Do you know where she went?" He was slowly looking around, trying to find the source of the voice.

"The jealous fairy has her. She's going to her doom."

Klaus froze, "Her doom?"

"Yes. I'd help her but those of magic cannot stand against a royal fairy, even if she's only the king's half sister. Can you help her?"

"I'll do whatever I can to. Can you take me to her?"

"Yes. Follow." He saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and whirled around. There was something moving away from him. "Hurry." It said, "Before the curse takes hold and it's too late."

Klaus began to run after him, stumbling in the dark. He followed for nearly half an hour, catching no more than mere glimpses of what was leading him. Klaus hoped it wasn't a trap. The voice sounded sincere, but so did his own white lies at court.

He was panting slightly as they slowed, glad of his physical stamina.

"I can take you no further. You must hurry. It is right ahead." Klaus nodded, taking off at a trot. He glimpsed what seemed to be a young boy with dark hair and an eyepatch. Klaus decided he must have imagined the wolf ears and tail-humans didn't have animal ears, much less tails.

He saw a glowing ahead and stopped, hidden by some high bushes. He looked carefully through them-no matter what he wanted to think, this sickly green glow wasn't natural.

He stifled a gasp when he saw the girl in the white night gown reaching out for a rough spinning wheel that looked to be made of sticks and bark. A long, sharp, menacing needle glinted in the unearthly glow. A pale hand reached for it.

"No!" He cried, feeling like something horrible would happen if she touched it. But she kept reaching in an almost trancelike state. A chilling, bitter laughter rang through the woods as he fought his way through the bushes into the clearing. He could almost hear the sound of the needle pricking her finger. A drop of blood winded down the needle and everything went in slow motion as he lunged to catch her as her legs gave out beneath her. He caught her and landed on his knees as he cradled her in her arms. She was so much smaller than he'd thought-it was easy to forget because her personality was so big it exceeded her person.

Beside them, the spinning wheel melted into the ground, and Klaus stood up, getting her away from the wretched thing. "It's too laaaaate~" sang the same voice that had been laughing, "Maybe next time mortals will think twice before stealing away the betrothed of a fairy." It began laughing again, fading as if it was leaving, going away.

Klaus wanted to get away from this cursed place. He was lost and completely unsure of where he was, but anywhere was better than that place. He tried to wake her up-Selene was alive, her heart was beating and she was breathing softly. Where was that person? The one who said he owed her a debt? After what he'd just witnessed, perhaps magic was real. And if magic was real, and that person had it, perhaps he'd know a way to wake Selene up.

"Hello? Where did you go?" He called out at the place where he'd left the boy.

"You were too late…" came the whisper from behind him, and he turned. In the shadows was the boy with the eyepatch and the tail. Instead of the bored, apathetic tone he heard earlier, the person's voice seemed...sorrowful.

"Are you magic? You said you owed her. Can't you do anything?"

The dark-haired boy shook his head, "My magic does naught but curse others. It's why I left. The only one who believed it wasn't a curse was her." He motioned to the girl limp in Klaus's arms, "She'd visit me, and talk to me, and there's nothing I can do to repay her because any magic I have only harms and corrupts. Tonight the moon is half-full, and I am half beast. I'll take you back to the village, but I can do no more." With the speed and grace of a shadow among shadows, it moved and began moving away, and Klaus hurried to follow, sleeping Selene in his arms.

It was near dawn by the time they got back, and they were about to send out a search party for the two missing youths when Klaus trod heavily into the town. There was a big fuss, and Klaus sat before his family and Selene's adoptive family, told the story once, and didn't say another word for the entire day, withdrawing and going for a ride on his horse. By himself.

Selene was put back in her bed, after Cynthia changed her into a non-half-shredded nightgown and brushed out her hair. All day people came and heard what happened, and it spread through the town like the fire that damaged the inn. Children who didn't understand kept asking why big sister Selene wouldn't wake up-she was just asleep, not dead, so why wasn't she waking up?

Percy tried to talk to his brother, but was unsuccessful. Elias just gave him a hug and told him that it'd be okay. That seemed to help Klaus more than the words of his other family members, though he was still as silent as ever.

The next morning, Duke Goldstein announced that the family would be leaving, saying that it was time for them to move on-they were late to their visit with their maternal grandfather's as it was. This caused a sharp jab of pain in Klaus' chest-he'd have to leave Selene, who still hadn't woken up-but he retained his neutral expression, nodding stiffy. Unbeknownst to him, his mother sensed his sorrow, and tried to convince her husband to let them stay just a little longer. He agreed that they could leave at dawn the next day instead of after midday meal.

After the family meeting adjourned, Klaus wandered off. Until recently, he'd never felt lost. And he never felt so lost as he had now. He wondered what was wrong with him-falling in love, in two weeks, with a girl he barely knew and who was currently in a coma? But, his Hopeful self argued, she was loved by the entire town, and she did save Elias without even a thought to herself getting hurt. That had to say something, didn't it?

You barely know her and you're leaving tomorrow, retorted his voice of Reason, besides, she's in a magical sleep, and who knows when, if ever, she'll wake up.

Shut up, said Hope, shut up Reason.

Klaus shook his head. Perhaps he was going insane-perhaps he'd gotten infected with something in the forest that made him lose his reason. Yeah, that was it.

While he was lost in his thoughts, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and when he pushed away the thoughts, he realized that he was in front of the healer's home. The healer herself was in her herb garden weeding. Looking up, she smiled softly, "Did you come to see her?" He nodded, not sure why he was doing so. "Go ahead. She's still in her room." She motioned with a hand covered in dark earth and went back to her weeding. Klaus noticed that she looked far more worn out than the first time he saw her, coming to diagnose Elias.

Of course she would be, said Reason, the town inn burned down, injuring her daughter-not to mention several others-and then soon after the same daughter is cursed into a sleep with little chance of being awoken. Of course she's worn to the bone. You should leave and not cause her trouble.

Again, Reason, said Hope, shut up. We need to be able to at least say goodbye to Selene.

Whatever, sighed Reason.

Yup, he was going mad. No doubt about it.

He gently pushed open the door to her room, as it was always left open a crack from what he could tell. He was sure the healer, Cynthia, had mentioned that Selene had a fear of being trapped, so he didn't close it all the way behind him, leaving it open a bit.

He sighed, sitting on the low stool placed beside the bed, "I'm leaving tomorrow. I don't suppose you'll wake up enough for me to thank you for saving Elias? Or so I can say you're a fool for getting trapped in a spell and venturing into a magical forest? Or to confess the fact that I've fallen in love with you?" That last sentence was barely above a whisper. He laughed bitterly at himself.

On an impulse, he decided to lean forward. Then the door flew open and he jumped, making the stool to slide out from under him and causing him to go forward. And he kissed her on the lips. It was an accident-he was going for the forehead. He jerked back, face burning.

"Oh, uh, sorry...are you okay…?" Asked Galvin, Cynthia's oldest son, who'd run inside to check on his big sister for the hundredth time that day (hoping that maybe she'd be awake and able to play).

Scrambling up, Klaus nodded at the young boy. Then there was a moan from the bed. Not of pain, but of someone just waking up after a long nap. They both turned and saw that Selene was sitting up, looking utterly confused. Galvin squealed in excitement and ran over, giving her a big hug and chanting "You're awake! You're awake!" Then he ran off shouting that he "had to go get mama!"

"What does he mean, I'm awake? And, um, why are you in my room…?" Her confusion only increased with her noticing Klaus' presence.

"Oh…about that…" Klaus began awkwardly.

Galvin ran back in with his mother in tow, who gasped and started crying, immediately going over and embracing her adoptive daughter. Selene patted the woman awkwardly on the back, "This may sound a little strange, but can someone please fill me in on what's happened since I went to bed…? I'm quite lost…"

Cynthia dove into an explanation of what had happened since the fire several days ago. "We thought you were dead with he came back carrying you! But you were sleeping, as I've told you, and for some reason, you're awake now! How, I don't know. But you're awake!" Selene had listened to the whole thing in silence. She thought it over.

"Magic sleep, hmm? What, in legends wakes people from those?"

"True love's kiss!" Cried Galvin, getting excited.

Klaus froze, face turning red again. The other three looked at him, one excited (Galvin), one interested (that'd be Cynthia), and the last one turning red.

"It was an accident!" He defended, "I-I didn't mean to...uh...er…"

Cynthia smiled, "But it woke her. Am I right in guessing that you've fallen in love with her?"

He looked down at his shoes and nodded. Cynthia smiled, nodding happily. Selene's already red face was now completely crimson as she looked down at her fingers as, twisting them awkwardly.

"Great. When's the wedding then?" Said a voice from the doorway, and everyone looked over to see Percy leaning against the doorframe, "I think Mother will be pleased."

Klaus glared, blushing furiously at his brother, cursing him to the next dimension for being so embarrassing.


	37. Chapter 30

Wah! I'm so sorry for being a day late! It completely just slipped my mind! I had no computer time yesterday, due to a ridiculous amount of homework...but I am posting today!

Guys, I figured out something really awesome today. If you spell "Elias" backwards (saile), it's pronounced really similar to my name! Heck, replace the "i" with a "y" and it _is_ my name! It's simply amazing (to me, at the very least)!

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Author's note to lessen confusion: In this fanfic, Klaus is currently in three different classes. One is for people who want to become teachers of any kind (Teaching, An Art), one is focused on the study of ancient and rare magics (Magicks of Old), and the other one is a class on world cultures (World Cultures). Klaus technically has way more credits than he needs to graduate, so these are mostly for personal enjoyment and benefit. Teaching, An Art, is held once a week on Tuesdays, early in the morning-Magicks of Old is held on Thursdays right after lunch, and World Cultures meets five days a week on the first week of every month for two hours before lunch.

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This is day 8 of Selene's trial. Wednesday.

Chapter 30

My eyes snapped open and I quickly sat up, jerking my head back and forth, searching for my mother.

Only this wasn't my bedroom. It was my dorm room at the academy.

A feeling of utter loneliness swept over me and I clutched at where my heart was, because oh did it ache something fierce. I rubbed at my eyes and was surprised to find then wet. I hadn't even realized I was crying.

I heard a _whoosh_ and suddenly felt a weight on my lap. A beak ran through my hair as I uncovered my eyes. It was Blayze. I wrapped my arms around him and let the tears flow freely. I've always been a quiet crier. Blayze hummed a soothing sound. "Blayze..." I whispered, "I saw her...mama...she was in my dream...but I'm awake again...and she's gone…" I felt like I had reverted back to the little girl I was when she died, the lost little seven-year-old who felt alone amongst so many other people…

…. …. ….

Klaus's POV

I woke up too early. I didn't have to get up for nearly another hour. It was five oh five in the a.m. I've been up since an hour prior. I don't know what woke me up, whether is was some dream I don't remember, or what, but I woke up feeling sad, and alone, and like a lost child. The feeling had passed within a few minutes, but I can still remember it very acutely. It was strange and I wasn't quite sure what to do about it.

At this point though, I can tell I'm not going to be able to go back to sleep, so I might as well get up and get some work done. There is that essay outline that's due for one of my classes tomorrow, Magicks of Old, that I need to get done. We're going to be working on this essay for the next few months. It'll be a mainly outside of class thing. We're supposed to choose a topic and present it in the outline. I have no clue what to do for mine-we're supposed to find a type of magic connected to a certain kind of magical creature that is rarely seen. Well known creatures like Dragons, Unicorns, Sirens, and Griffins are probably going to be some of the more commonly chosen ones. Thing is, only one person can have a certain creature, so there's no doubles allowed-and this class has twenty five people. I want to find a good topic, one that hasn't really been done in that class before. Maybe some rare type of fairy or something.

I get out of bed and start getting ready in the dark. It's too early for light…

Selene's POV

I felt a lot better after a good cry. Sometimes you just need to cry, you know? I got up, careful not to wake Amelia up, and grabbed my shower stuff. Yes, I took a shower last night. But a nice, hot shower is just another thing you need sometimes. A hot bath would be better, but the dorms don't have baths, sadly.

After I'm all done and ready, I don't have as much time to make sweets as I normally do, so in lieu of the macaroons I was _going_ to make, I just make chocolate covered berries (strawberries, dried cherries and cranberries, and blueberries) and stick them in the fridge for a while-during that time I clean up and run to my room, make sure my bag's packed, and bring my bag back with me-before arranging them artfully on little paper plates. It only took me about half an hour to get them fridge-ready because melting the chocolate properly and keeping it that way was simple with my magic.

I dropped Amelia's off with her in our room-she was still getting ready-and gave Isa hers, Alex's, and Zave's when I met her while I was getting a quick breakfast. I told her I was leaving early and asked her to give them to the other two before waving goodbye and running to the kitchen. I put my bag on and grabbed the other four plates, balancing two per hand and hurrying off to my classroom. I put one in Elias' spot, one in Yukiya's, and one in Luca's before leaving my bag in my own spot and hurrying off to the prefect's office, " _Unique Magicks of Old and Forgotten Times_ " in one hand, the plastic-wrapped plate of chocolate-covered berries in the other.

When I reached it, I balanced the book waitress style in my hand and set the plate on the top. I knocked my knock and I got a gruff, " _Come in…_ " I entered, shutting the door behind me with my foot as I regrabbed the plate in my free hand. I walked up to Klaus, where he was working on a paper covered in crossed-out bits. I set the plate next to it and peered at the paper, well I tried to anyway. He put it away before I really could though.

He glanced up at me, giving me a curt "thanks" then yawned. I leaned over the desk a bit, head tilted, "You look tired. Did you not sleep well or something? You've bags under your eyes again."

Klaus' POV

She didn't know what she was doing to me, leaning in like that with that innocent look on her face. It made me want to lean forward myself and kiss her, especially now that I knew she wasn't taken…

This is getting really bad...Snap out of it, Klaus!

"I just got up a bit too early." I casually waved her back.

"Oh. Okay." She nodded and held out a book to me, simply shrugging off my words. I gave her a raised eyebrow. "Here. Go to the bookmarked page."

I took it from her and went to the marked page, on near the end. It was labeled "True Elementals" followed by a shorter paragraph. "And why am I looking at this?"

"I was using the magic bookmark to help me look for different reasons why wizards can't use specific kinds of magic at all, yet do really well in others. This was the last section I read. It makes a lot of sense when you look at my magic, but not at my ancestry." she pointed to a specific part. "' _They don't seem to be abl' to useth magick oth'r than those dealing with their element._ ' I can use one element, but not its opposite. Fire but not water. Wind but not very much earth. But then again, both my parents were human, and it says there are no documented halflings for Elementals. I was wondering if you knew of something similar that might be able to explain my magic."

I remember Elementals being mentioned in my Magicks of Old class. Keyword: mentioned. Little is known on them, other than the fact that we're pretty sure they exist. I think hard for a moment, "I'm not sure. Maybe one of your parents could be of Elemental descent themselves, but other than that, I'm really not sure. Perhaps your father is, somewhere back in the line. Just because we don't have any halflings documented doesn't mean they don't exist." This might actually make an interesting topic if it weren't for the lack of information...maybe I could go a bit unorthodox and find as many rumors and speculation about True Elementals. That might work. Plus, there might be something that could help Selene…

"I wish I knew. I know next to nothing about my father, and my mother is entirely human, I know that for a fact. I'd ask my brothers if they knew...only I already have." She sat on the edge of my desk, thinking. Then her eyes widened and she almost seemed like she was talking to herself. "Hold on...I might actually get to talk to him, if what mama said was right…"

I gave her a look that said "are-you-going-to-fill-me-in-or-what...?"

It took her a second to realize that she was yet again talking to herself. I had pointed it out several times in the past week-it seemed to be her way of attempting to organize her thoughts.

"Oh. Right." She laughed and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, but it made her look strangely...cute. "So you see, I seem to be able to have visions as dreams. It's not the most common thing-though they seem to be happening a lot as of late-but they do happen. Like there was this one the night before I came...and that one when I fell asleep in the courtyard last week...anyway, in my dream last night…" She went on to explain her dream to me, though I had a feeling she was leaving something out towards the end...I decided not to push it. If she didn't want to tell me, that's her choice. "And if I trust that my dream was more than just a dream, I might be meeting my father soon from what she said. Why he wasn't just in this dream though-after all, my brothers' father was-I'm not sure. It's not that big a deal. I wonder…" She went off on a train of thought and began muttering to herself. I decided to let her be.

I got up and went to go grab my bag from where it was placed and replaced it on a chair closer to the door. The bell will be ringing soon, and that means I'm going to have to head down to the library, well, for this I might try the archives first, to try and get that outline written.

I turn back and approach the desk, about to tell her it what time it nearly was. She was facing the ceiling, still perched on the edge of the desk. She set her hand on an edge, and I could tell she was going to lean on it, put her weight on it. The next occurrence seemed to be in slow motion.

Selene's POV

I lean back heavily on my hand, still lost in thought. When my hand slips, I barely have time to yelp before I fall towards the ground. I hit Klaus, though, who was right there all of a sudden, and, instead of falling properly, brought us both down. Before I know it, we're both on the ground, having hit it with a thump. I landed on top of his chest and turn scarlet when I realize the position we're in. Oops…we stared at each other in surprise for I don't know how long…was that coloring in his cheeks a faint blush…or was it just my imagination...? We were snapped out of our stupor when the warning bell suddenly rang. " _Holy_...are you okay…?" I ask, biting my lip. "Did you hit your head or something…?"

"I'd be better if you'd get off of me." He gave me an agitated look. I rolled off and stood up, "Sorry!" I squeaked.

He got up and dusted himself off, "Never mind that. You might want to head off, though. It wouldn't do for you to be late for class."

Klaus' POV

Her eyes widened and she gasped, "Right! Crap! Where'd I put my bag…?!" She looks around frantically for it, and I sigh and point to the door. She darts forward, grabs it, and runs out of the room, sprinting down the hall and turning a corner before I could even scold her for running in the halls. Crap. I had meant to scold her for the whole eyebrows thing too...they had returned to normal before I had gone to bed, but I still needed too…

The memory of her warm weight on top of me made heat rise in my cheeks-the blush that had, thankfully, abstained from appearing until now. This is bad, if I'm getting this flustered over something that stupid and simple...this is really bad…

Shut up Klaus.

You've work to do.

Get your stuff and go to the archives.

Now.

And, pushing my personal thoughts to the back of my mind once more, I do such.

* * *

Luca: Authoress…

Luca: Authoress…

Luca: Authoress!

Authoress (falls out of seat and lands on the ground with a yelp): Is the world ending?!

Luca: No.

Authoress *groans*: Then why'd ya wake me uuuup?!

Luca: Because you were asleep at your desk again.

Authoress: My bed it right over there. You're a magical genius. Couldn't you have just casted some sort of spell and levitated me into it? Then just left me alone…?

Luca: Nope! Besides, the girls all need you.

Authoress (still sitting on the floor glaring Lucius): So what are you, their messenger boy?

Luca: Hey, I owe Selene a few favors.

Authoress *grumbling*: Whatever. Tell them I'm coming after I drop by the kitchen. I need hot coco.


	38. La Belle Et La Bête

Another Fairytale chapter! Mostly because I got stuck and lost my train of writing somewhere around chapter 44! So, I decided to be productive and force myself through that bit later-I know what I want to happen afterwards, but I'm having a little trouble getting there. But I'll get there eventually, so don't worry! :) Oh, and the character named Maxence is solely for the purpose of this spin off and won't actually exist in the actual story, just an fyi! And I'll be borrowing something from Vincent's route towards the end of this, too. In the meantime, enjoy!

Oriental Wizardess: Thanks for all the awesome reviews! I'm sending you a pm with a much longer message, but I hadn't realized, until you said something, that I'd surpassed 100k words! Holy cannoli! When did that happen…? :)

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La Belle Et La Bête

She gazed through the ornate iron-wrought gate to the forbidding castle beyond. Her long, dark blonde hair spilled from the edges of the cloak's hood, her light red mouth was set in a determined look. It was a dreary, overcast morning, and misty fog had started to gather, swirling around her ankles as she took a step towards the gate, pulling her worn cloak around her tighter. She hated this sort of weather-regardless of how appropriate it was for what she was here to do.

She was taking the place of her two-year-old nephew as a captive.

Her older brother, a merchant, had gotten lost on the way home from the town where he'd been selling goods in. It was on a day far more foggy than this one. He wouldn't of dared it, but he needed to get home to his wife, whom the healer said would be going into labor any day now. But he'd taken the wrong path, and come across a castle. This one. He'd decided to see if the residents would let him stay, so he wouldn't become more lost and waste more time.

Yet, there wasn't, seeming, anyone there. When he entered, he'd been led around by silent shadows, taken care of by unseen people. The next morning, when he had to leave, he noticed gorgeous rose bush with golden blooms, the like of which he'd never seen before. There were several of these bushes, and each was laden with flowers. He thought to take one back to his wife as an apology for not being back sooner, and reasoned that there were enough that one wouldn't be missed.

But as soon as he cut the flower from its plant some great power froze him in place as a growling voice boomed around him.

"WE'VE SHELTERED YOU. WE'VE TAKEN CARE OF YOU. AND YOU REPAY OUR KINDNESS WITH THIEVERY?" The voice howled, "TAKE YOUR FLOWER-BUT YOU MUST REPAY US. YOU MUST SEND ONE OF YOUR CHILDREN AS RETRIBUTION. IF THEY DO NOT ARRIVE BY THE NEXT NEW MOON, YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY WILL PERISH!"

The spell over him broke, and he ran. When he made it back to the village, he couldn't bare to tell his wife, who was exhausted from giving birth. He confided in his little sister, sixteen-year-old Selene. He was heartbroken-he would have to send Galvin, his oldest son, or everyone in his large family (he had six brothers, each with families) would die.

"No, Jonny. You will not send Galvin." Selene stated.

He looked at his sister, eyes full of pained sorrow, "What else am I to do? I cannot send a newborn!"

"You will not send a newborn or a two year child. I will go." She declared.

"But you are not my child, sister!"

"I might as well be. I may not be your child by birth, but you raised me. A parent is the one who raises you, are they not? I will go. After all, I've no spouse or children to leave behind. I am going. You will not argue." Selene was young, yes, but she wasn't easily daunted. "Besides, I'm of little use here. My magic is unpredictable and wild whenever I attempt to use it. I cannot act the proper lady, and I despise the one person who constantly chases after me." She shuddered at the thought of Maxence, the man who'd been trying to get her to agree to marry him. He was one of those men who liked the thought of having a spirited wife to break, like some sort of wild horse-but her brother's knew none of Maxence's true personality, and only saw the charming man who wished to wed their little sister. But her brother's loved her and wouldn't force her into a marriage. Selene refused to acknowledge his advances. "I will go. I will leave soon; the new moon is only a few nights away." And Selene refused to change her mind.

So here she stood, at the gates to her voluntary prison. She carried only a small sack with some food and a change of clothes, dull green cloak wrapped around her. "Hello?" She called, a mere foot from the gate, "I am here to fulfill the requirements set by the master of this house, due to the error of the merchant man, Johnathan, who was here some days ago. Tonight is the deadline-there is no moon left to lighten the sky."

The gate before her creaked open, so she entered. It creaked shut behind her. She inhaled carefully as she approached the vast castle before her. She noted mentally that it could use a good cleaning, though the ivy vines that climbed it probably would look beautiful on a sunny, clear day. She was glad to have something to think of, something not dreadful.

Because for the past day and a half of the journey, she'd been prevented any sleep for thoughts of her fate. Jonny said the voiced sounded like some sort of monster-would she be eaten? Kept as a slave? Left to rot in a dungeon? In her mind, all of those possibilities were equally likely, it seemed.

She made it to the large door, and reached a single, calloused hand and gripped the door knocker, lifting it and lowering it twice before letting it go. She withdrew her hand into the warm(er) folds of her cloak and waited. The door opened, and as she stepped in, she couldn't see anyone. Had the door opened on it's own? Was it because of a haunting from a ghost, or was it due to magical means? She beat back her curiosity-there'd be plenty of time for it if she liv...BANG! The heavy door behind her slammed and she jumped from the sudden noise that seemed very out of place in this deathly silent place, the only other noise the beating of her heart.

"Hello?" She said gently, trying not to wince as it echoed through the large entrance room. Hearing nothing but herself, she shrugged and decided to walk forward. Out of the corner of her eye, something moved, and she whirled to see a shadow zipping out of sight. She hurried to follow it, moving quickly yet quietly-her cloak fluttered back, revealing, not a dress, but trousers and a loose shirt. She followed the shadow as best she could through a few hallways, and it led her to a room, a sitting room from the looks of it. There were a few overstuffed chairs and most importantly, in her mind, a large fire behind the grate. Glancing around and seeing no one, she made her way to the fire, and knelt before sticking her chilled hands as close to the grate covering the fire as she could. The warmth felt glorious. The fire itself wouldn't burn her-the heated metal grate was another matter. A single flame trickled through the grate and wove its way around her fingers. She giggled softly-it tickled.

"You are the tribute? You look far too old to be that man's child." Something growled behind her. She froze.

"Are you the master of this place?" She asked, voice even. Inside though, something akin to what could be fear twisted nervously. She began to turn around when…

"DO NOT!" It commanded, "Do not turn around!" She froze again, and the little flame decided it should go rejoin the main body.

"Are you the master of this place?" She repeated, making sure nothing showed in her voice.

"I am. And you shouldn't be here."

"I am the tribute. The man, my oldest brother, Johnathan, raised me. I never knew my father and my mother died when I was young. My brother took me in, raised me. He is the closest thing to a father I have. I came in place of his actual sons. They are too young to be punished for anyone's wrong-one is only two summers, the other a newborn babe. And you cannot blame my brother. I refused to let him send anyone else. I am here for anything you wish." The slightest tremble entered her voice at those last words was due to the return of the awful thoughts of what could happen to her, and she hoped that whoever, or _what_ ever stood behind her hadn't heard it.

"Remove your hood." The voice was deep, and there was something almost feline about it, something that reminded her of the big cats, the cougars and the pumas she could hear when she joined her brothers in a night hunt. She slowly brought her hands up and pulled back her hood. She had left her hair unbraided, so it could act as sort of a makeshift scarf against the weather. She put her hands under it and pulled it free from beneath the collar of her cloak, letting it fall down her back. Her scatterbrain, which thought of the most random things at the worst times, reminded her she needed a haircut.

"I am sorry," She said, "if this doesn't fulfill the exact terms you set, but I refuse to let a little child be separated from his mother and family. Besides, wouldn't a person capable of performing tasks be more useful than a toddler? I can do any chores or tasks you wish me to do, or die trying."

"There are servants for the chores." It snapped. "As for you…"

"Might I turn around?" She suddenly asked, standing up but still facing the fireplace.

"What?" It spluttered, confused.

"I'd feel much better if I might face the one deciding my fate." She stated, banishing any trace of fear from her tone. And without having further ado, she turned around.

She gazed, wide-eyed at the creature before her. It was a male, certainly, wearing fancy clothes that had seen better days. The creature was halfway between a lion and a man. But his eyes, for sure, were human. And they had a look of worry as they both stood frozen, looking at one another. Did he think she'd panic and run at the sight of him?

Then Selene spoke, "How peculiar. I've never seen purple eyes before. They're rather pretty."

The worried look was gone, replaced with a bored, indifferent look that betrayed none of his thoughts. "Is that all?" He'd seen many beauties in his time, but none quite like this one. Noble woman were usually very fair skinned and pale, wearing fancy gowns and jewellery—this girl, who couldn't be more than fourteen, outshined any he'd ever met, with sun-kissed golden skin, blonde hair that appeared to be in different shades, again most likely from the sun, and wore worn trousers and shirt: men's clothing. The only trinket she wore was was a necklace, it's charm a hand-carved wooden sun. And if she'd never seen purple eyes, he'd never seen eyes like hers. Grey eyes, yes, but eyes that looked like silver? With flecks of gold and bronze? Never. They looked perceptive and intelligent too, something too many women were't. He kept these thoughts to himself. "Follow me."

Without a word, she followed him through hallways, up several staircases, one of which was winded upwards, into some sort of tower. Was she to be thrown off a tower? The pessimistic part of her wondered. They stopped at the top, where he pulled out a key ring and put one into the lock of the door. He pushed it open. "Go inside."

"Okay." She said, doing as he told her. It was a room, she discovered, one far nicer than the one she grew up in. The lion man didn't enter.

"You are not to leave this room until summoned." The door was shut and she heard footsteps leaving. So she wasn't to die—yet.

If she wasn't going to die, she might as well catch up on some sleep.

…. …. ….

She woke the next morning with a clap of thunder. She shouldn't have been surprised—it was spring, the rainy season. That didn't mean she had to like it. She looked around the room as false daylight lit up and faded. There was no way to tell the time. It was chilly in the tower. She noticed a fire grate on one side. Maybe…

She slid out of the bed, her bare feet whimpering silently at the touch of the cold stone floor. Making her way over to the fireplace, she spotted wood stacked near it, with a bucket of wood shavings next to it. She built a stack of wood that would allow sufficient air to fuel it (she was no amature when it came to making fires) and put a small pile of wood shavings in the center. She took a breath. "Concentrate. Concentrate. You can do this." She muttered, reaching out a hand. She snagged a little energy from inside her and pushed it out through her fingertips, aiming at the wood shavings.

And then was blown back as the fire burst into life. She sighed as she got her wind back and shrugged. She hasn't destroyed anything, for once, and now she had a cheery fire that was quickly warming the air, if not the floor. Getting knocked onto her bottom was sufficient cost for almost successfully using her wild magical gift. Back home, there were several people who had magic, but they had magic that was more normal, easier to control. Hers was as rampant as the only element she could use. No one knew how to help her, and whenever she used it it tended to explode and burn everything. She didn't use it often, to say the least. And when she dare attempt it, she only used the smallest amount possible—just think, if the little thread of her power lit the fire like it did just then, think of how much a small handful would do? Boom.

She decided to poke around the room. Why not? She found clothes in the wardrobe, all nice dresses far prettier than most of anything from her home village. Blech. There were also thing that went with these dresses. Everything also seemed to be in her size, strange enough. It might have frightened anyone who hadn't known magic.

"This whole place must be saturated with magic." She mused. "Down to the very foundation. Why not? It surely seems so. Oh, I do wish I was as good at sensing magical residue as Inan is!" She changed into the spare set of clothes she'd brought, though. She just wasn't the biggest fan of dresses. Trousers allowed much more movability and were far more comfortable.

Her stomach rumbled. It must be close to dawn, then. She dug in her bag and took stock of her food. There wasn't tons, but she could maybe make it last two meals. She split it in two parts and ate one half. She could've eaten it all with room to spare, but she wasn't sure when she'd be allowed out. Sure, she might be daring and bold, but why unnecessarily anger an entity of unknown powers?

…. …. ….

She was bored. Bored. BORED. She'd been sitting in the room all day. It wasn't thundering anymore, but it was still raining a decent amount. She only knew it was nearing the evening because her stomach was rumbling. Again. She was near starving. If only she had _something_ to do...why didn't she think to bring something from her house? Any of her books, a notepad, _something_? Oh, that's right. She was sure she was going to die in some horrible, ghastly way. Curse her overactive imagination. At this rate the only fate she was going to have was death by boredom. She kept contemplating leaving the room. But when she tried the door, it was unlocked. Crap. Now there wasn't anything to stop her except determination not to fall into that temptation. She left the door closed. Perhaps she'd be summoned at some point soon.

There was a scratching sound on the door. Huh? Going over, she slowly and carefully turned the handle before opening the door ever-so-slightly.

It was a cat.

…. …. ….

He was in the highest tower of the castle. It was on the complete opposite side of the building from the next highest-the one where _she_ was. She irritated him. There had been several people who'd come to this place since _it_ happened. Only a few of those had seen him, yet all of them had been terrified. As they should be-he was a monster. But _she_ didn't do anything but comment on his eyes. Not the fangs the were slightly visible, not the fur covering his skin, but his eyes of all things. His _eyes_. This girl was strange, very strange.

But the conditions of the curse still held. He couldn't change them, and to go against them would be catastrophic. He sighed.

…. …. ….

The cat was a very golden blond color. But it was the purple eyes that were so curious to Selene. Opening the door, the cat walked right in, tail in the air and looking very regal. It went and hopped onto the bed, sitting and watching her. She tilted her head, "Well, I'd say this is strange if it weren't for the fact that all cats are strange creatures." She laughed airily, going and sitting next to the cat. "At least I can actually talk to something without seeming crazier than I already am. So where did you come from, friend?"

It just studied her with those peculiar eyes.

"Of course, you can't answer me, but it's polite to try." Selene said with a shrug, leaning back onto the bed and starting at the ceiling..

- _Who said I couldn't answer? Don't just assume things._ \- deadpanned a more young male voice.

She bolted up, looking wide-eyed at the cat, "I'm not Katalina. I should not be able to understand the animal." She said simply, "I'm going mad-more mad, really-aren't I?"

- _No. You're not._ \- it, he?, sighed. - _And I'm not exactly a cat, thank you._ -

"What are you then, a constellation?*" Selene asked. By now, Selene realized he was talking in her head with telepathy or whatever it was.

- _That is not correct either. I'm human._ -

"You sure don't look it."

- _Of course I don't. I'm under a curse._ -

That was interesting, "What sort of curse? Did you get on the wrong side of some witch? Stole from her garden, perhaps? Or was it that fellow I met yesterday, who's got the same eyes as you do?"

- _No and no again. I'm not really allowed to tell you. Only one person is, and I'm not that person. I'm really just here to tell you that you should get dressed in proper attire, or you might not be invited to have dinner._ -

"But I am dressed."

It hopped off the bed in one graceful cat-leap and rubbed up against the wardrobe.

"You can't be serious."

- _If you want dinner, assume I'm serious. If you want to go hungry, I'm completely pulling your leg._ \- he said in a flat voice. Then he left through the door, which shut behind him, without saying a single goodbye.

"Cats," Selene muttered, "whether they were once human or not, they're all cryptic." She sighed and got up, going to the wardrobe and opening it. "This is why I prefer dogs."

…. …. ….

True to the word of the cat, a while later, after she figured out how to get on that wretched contraption of a dress-a simple pale grey one she'd found, which laced itself up (too tightly, in her opinion, but she couldn't get it to loosen itself-and dragged a comb on the vanity through her hair (which she promptly twisted up into a bun, too keep it out of her face), a knock came on the door. She opened it, yet there was no one, not even that cat-that-claimed-it-was-human, there. There was that shadow she'd followed the previous night that was disappearing at the end of the hallway. She sighed, "I suppose this is my summons." before hurrying off after it, glad she was wearing her comfortable shoes that she'd come in, and not one of those pinchy fancy things that were neatly aligned at the bottom of the wardrobe.

She was led by the shadow-it was a man's shadow, she decided, because it was far too big to be a woman's-to a large dining room that looked out of a storybook, all big and grand, with a total of sixteen chairs. Every place was set at the long table. But only two had a glass: one at each end. She slid into one of those two seats, the one that was smaller than the other. There, she sat in a very-in her mind, at least-ladylike position, waiting. For what? Who knew. The lion-man, perhaps. The one she'd met last night. Now that she thought about it, she didn't know his name. She'd have to remember to ask.

There was a creak and she turned. There stood Leo, as she decided to call him in her head until she knew his name. He briskly went and sat at the other end of the table. After a quick snap of his fingers, dishes of food began streaming into the room, as if carried by invisible servants. This guy wasn't kidding when he said there were servants.

"Woah…" She whispered, "This must be some serious magic!"

Either he didn't hear her or he ignored her. Either way, he didn't respond. The magical floating plates settled themselves in perfect places. Leo reached and began putting things on his plate. Shrugging, Selene followed suit, filling her plate. "This isn't like those stories where if I eat something from here that I'll be trapped forever, is it?" She asked.

He looked up, indifferent. "That's up to you."

"Okay then. Thank you for the food~!" She clapped her hands twice. She'd picked that up from a friend from a foreign country. While her hometown was small, it had all sorts of people pass through. It was located midway though the Elwood, the old, huge expanse of forest that took up maybe at least a third of the country. There was only one definite path through it, and only her village was on it, in the dead center, surrounded by the magical forest. She thought she got a strange look from Leo, but she was used to strange looks. She was a strange girl, which she knew very well.

They ate in silence, for the most part. But Selene's curiosity got the best of her. "I never quite caught your name."

"That's because I didn't tell you." Was the gruff reply.

"Well, I'm Selene Celeste. Might I inquire as to your name?" She mimicked a high-class (in her mind) lilt.

"Klaus." Was all he said.

"It's nice to officially meet you, Sir Klaus." She withheld snickers as he rolled his eyes. "Can I ask a question?"

"May I." he corrected with a sigh, "you just did."

"I'll take that as a yes. Are you under some sort of curse? I met a cat earlier that claimed he was human, a human under a curse, but he said he couldn't tell me any more than that."

Klaus froze, fork halfway to his mouth. He slowly set it down. "There are no cats in this place. There are no animals near this place." While his voice sounded certain, his eyes told a different story.

"Well, you clearly know something."

"I don't have the faintest idea of what you're talking about."

"I'm many things. A moron is not one of those things." She insisted, "You know _something_. You can't deny it, not after the way you froze like that."

"And why should I trust you to know anything, hmm?" He retorted calmly.

"Because I'm going to trust what you say."

He was silent. "Just eat your dinner."

Selene sighed, "Eventually I'm going to figure it out, whether you tell me or not. Might as well tell me soon before it becomes later." And she went back to eating with gusto.

After they'd eaten, he said she could go back to her room.

"If I'm going to be stuck in my room, might I have something to do? A book, or mending, or a notepad, something? Anything?" She begged, "Elsewise I might be tempted to wander.".

"Something will be sent up." He replied curtly as she got up. She smiled at him and was about to skip to the door before she remembered she was in skirts and would most likely just trip and fall on her face if she did. So she just walked. She reached out and touched the door to leave. Instead, she got a shock and was blown unto her tush.

"Oww! Stupid door! What was that for?" She shook a fist at the door.

It won't let her leave unless _that_ question is asked, sighed Klaus mentally. "Would you marry me?"

Selene, who had gotten up and was about to kick the door, turned, "Pardon?"

"Would you marry me?"

She looked confused, "Marry? What? Umm, well, seeing as I escaped getting married by coming here, no…" she sounded uncertain of what was going on.

"Try the door now."

She did, and it opened without shocking her. She shrugged and went out, the door closing by itself behind her. She spotted that shadow again and hurried off after it, the question she'd been asked having left her mind.

…. …. ….

The next few weeks progressed similar to that first day. She'd spend the day in her room (there were things that appeared outside her door for her to do, and she also kept in shape by doing all sorts of stretches and exercises you can do in smaller spaces), with a breakfast and lunch magically left outside her door; then she'd go to dinner, after having dressed into one of those dresses, with Klaus. After dinner, he'd always asked the same question, to which she answered the same reply. In her mind, it had to be some sort of passcode to nullify the door's shocky-powers. She had no clue it was a key to something far bigger, of course. What kind of story has all the answers in the beginning, after all? A lame one, maybe. On a side, note, she was asked this question every night after they ate dinner, before she left to go back to her room.

Eventually, the rains began to quiet as spring neared its close. Selene requested to be able to go out onto the grounds, at the promise of not leaving. She hadn't forgotten the consequences of leaving. But, as it had turned out, this cursed fellow, Klaus, was actually not a half bad guy. He was really smart, and was good at conversing. At one point, he showed her the extensive library that was in the castle. Selene had never seen so many books in her life, and was awed. And when he gave her permission to use it as she pleased, she lit up and darted over to the shelves, immediately starting to look for books to read. He even began to help her learn to control her magic-he was a wonderful teacher. She was still scared to use it on her own, though, which was part of the reason it malfunctioned. If you fear your magic, it, like a horse, won't cooperate. She was allowed everywhere in the castle but the west wing and the ballroom, which she didn't mind. There were more than enough places for her to explore.

Selene also enjoyed the company of that cat, whose name turned out to be Elias. And that shadow that led her around? That was Percy. He couldn't do much in his form, and wasn't able to mind-speak like Elias, but he did lead her around and help her when she was lost. Neither of them were known to Klaus, from what she could tell. Klaus thought that, besides those magical, invisible servants, that he was the only one there. Elias also told her not to mention him and Percy to Klaus, for whatever reason.

But as the weeks went on, the Klaus and Selene spent more and more time together. Selene was happy and enjoyed being with her new friend (he may have been half lion, but you know what?-Selene didn't care so much about appearance)-but for Klaus it was a different matter. He'd fallen hopelessly in love with this maiden, this brave, hyper, curious maiden. This was new to him. He'd never fallen for anyone before, let alone so hard. But he didn't tell her. He couldn't tell her.

Selene talked all the time about her family, her brothers and their families. She told him about the dreaded Maxence, "He's nearly nine years older than me!" She had exclaimed, "In his mind, I'm a challenge. He wants to marry me sheerly so he can have the pleasure of breaking my spirit, like some rampant, wild horse! It's awful! He's wretched!" Upon learning this, Klaus was seething on the inside at this man he didn't personally know, and simultaneously glad that Selene was now here, with him.

But he could tell she was getting homesick. She was far from the home she'd always know, after all. But Klaus didn't want to let her leave. It was selfish, he knew, but he couldn't help it. He'd been alone for the longest time, and didn't want to let the one person who actually cared for him since the curse was put in place. There was a way she could see her home without leaving, though.

So one evening, after dinner and the question were asked, he stopped her from going to her room for the night, and told her he had something to show her.

"Ooo...is there a hidden room in the library? I'm convinced there is. I just haven't pulled on the right book yet." Her eyes glinted with curiosity. Klaus chuckled and shook his head, beckoning her to follow him. He led her to the tallest tower of the castle, up all the winding stairs. They wound up clockwise, which Selene mentioned. "I read somewhere that in castles they made the stairs in the towers go up clockwise so if they were attacked, a right-handed enemy wouldn't be able to attack because of the wall, but the defender would because it's reversed. Of course, it wouldn't work if the attacker or defender is a lefty, but most people aren't so it's pretty good logic. It makes sense, don't you think?"

"Indeed." Was his reply as they reached the top. Selene's legs, which were in very good shape, thank you, were burning with exertion from the long, steep climb. But since it wasn't to the point where they felt like jelly, she figured it was all right. "Come." She followed him into a room where most of the objects were covered in sheets. They weren't dusty, but one could tell that most had been there a very long time. Klaus led her over to one side of the room, and told her to stay, then went off, grabbed something, and then came back. He handed it to her. It was a mirror. The backing was silver, the outer edge gilded in strands of woven metal, some sort of gold and bronze with the occasional little silver flower woven into the design. Looking closer at those edges of the small circular mirror, which was no more than a foot in diameter, she noticed what was clearly words. She couldn't read them, but they were pretty.

"Is it magical?" Selene inquired, "It's certainly fancy enough, and I doubt you brought me here to let me see my reflection."

"Perceptive as always, I see." Klaus commented airily. "It's a mirror that allows you to see far away things. Scrying, in a sense."

"I thought scrying didn't exist…"

"I said 'in a sense'. It's more of a viewing glass than actual scrying. Touch the reflective part, and think of what you wish to see."

She lightly tapped the center of the mirror, and it rippled like water, making her gasp, "Cool!" When the ripples settled, the mirror no longer showed her mirror image, but the dining room in Jonny's house-the house she'd grown up in. It was packed with the adults in her family-seven brothers, six wives. She could hear some of her nephews' gleeful shouts coming from the open door.

Looking closer at her family, she froze when she noticed their heartbroken faces, Jonny's especially. He was crying. She'd never seen him cry, not since she was very little.

" _It's my fault._ " He moaned, his hand clutching his forehead, " _It's all my fault. I shouldn't of let her go. I should've gone instead!_ "

" _John, you couldn't have stopped her._ " That was Merlin, always a logical voice of reason, " _She's as stubborn as a mule and more determined than a hero on a quest._ "

" _I should have done more to try!_ " He howled, tears falling more freely. By now, several of the wives were crying too, as well as a few of the brothers. The others' faces were blank and stony.

" _Oh, darlin'_." Soothed Cynthia, the only woman not crying. But Selene knew she was close to from the tremble in her voice. " _There's nothing that can be done. You know her as well as I-she wouldn't want us to mourn her. She'd want us to be happy and remember her, while moving on with life. She hated seeing people upset, and if she knew she was the cause she'd appear as a ghost and scold you, you know that._ "

Jonny let out a bitter laugh, " _I do know that. That can't change how I feel or the fact that she's dead because of my mistake!_ "

Selene couldn't move. They...they…they thought she was dead! She could see why they would, but...but…

Klaus watched her gain a look he'd never seen her wear-panicked fear. He wasn't sure what she'd heard; no one but the holder can hear the words spoken in the image. "What's upset you so?"

"They...think I'm dead." She sounded hollow as she placed the mirror on a small covered table; and her tone scared him.

"But you're not. So why are you worried?"

"Because they don't know." She bit her lip and closed her eyes, "And it's painful to me, saddening. They're hurting because of me."

Klaus was astounded. This was a depth of love he hadn't seen before. And he was feeling pangs in his own heart because she was hurting. He sighed, "As long as you promise to return after a week's stay, you may go and let them know you are alive."

She looked up at him, wide-eyed, "You trust me enough to let me do that?"

"I do."

She looked determined, "Then I promise to return. I promise on the sun and stars and moon." Klaus knew that, for her, this was the greatest promise she made. She stood up and, all of a sudden, hugged him. He froze, unsure of what to do. Then hesitantly, he returned the embrace, holding her close. He had never dared be so near to her before. She was warm, and smelled wonderful. Who knew that having another person so close was such a thrilling feeling? He hugged her tighter, never wanting to let go.

Then he heard the quiet wince, and withdrew rapidly, putting a good distance between them, "You should go." He said, turning away. He heard her quiet goodbye as she left.

He'd hurt her. He was stronger than he thought he was in this form. And she wasn't as physically strong as she often came off. She was so fierce it was easy to forget she was merely a young woman.

…. …. ….

Selene looked back at the castle where she'd lived for the past several months. It'd been early spring when she arrived, dark, wet, and chilly. The castle had looked haunted and forbidding. Now, it was mid fall; bright, dry, and warm with the occasional chilled wind that promised a winter to come. The castle that had once looked a fright was now charming and welcoming. As sorry as she was to leave, she had to go, if only for a while. So she smiled as she left, content in the knowledge that she'd be back soon enough.

…. …. ….

She should have been back nearly a week prior. Klaus was starting to panic. What if she wasn't coming back? What if, once she reached her home, she decided not to leave? That she didn't want to come back? There wasn't much he could do-his magic was sealed while he was under the curse-since he gave her permission to leave. His permission freed her from the curse's effects, and if she never came back, there was nothing he could do. And that's what he was afraid of.

But she had promised she'd come back. Selene was a very honest person, to the point of occasionally being overly blunt. He trusted her.

But that trust didn't dispel his worries entirely.

Because she still wasn't back a week later.

And he was unable to see her in the magical mirror.

…. …. ….

Another week went by. The first winter storm was soon to strike, for winter tended to come early in this part of the world. Klaus hadn't left his tower in several days. He spent most of his time looking out the window, which provided a view as far as one can see into the forest from above, a good way up the trial that led to the grounds. Selene hadn't come back. He was losing hope as the dread of forever being alone again started to sink in. By the end of that week, he'd stopped looking.

But if he had looked, he'd've seen the tall, dark-haired man with secretive black eyes, with a sword strapped to his belt, a determined look, and murderous thoughts, making the trek down the path to the castle.

…. …. ….

It was just after sunset, which came early these days, when Maxence made it to the gate of the castle. He'd been lucky, to have been the first one to find young Selene as she was making her way back to the village. He'd knocked her out and immediately hidden her. The wench had run the very day he was to make his proposal! He'd been so mad when he found out that he had stomped off and broken several things before he reigned in his anger. But now, she had returned to tell her family she was alive. So he'd hidden her, and told her brothers that he was going to slay the beast that had killed their precious little sister, his future wife to be. He'd waited a few weeks, to try and convince Selene to just marry him, but she'd fervently refused, no matter if he threatened her, or even hit her. The worthless child didn't know her place. She'd eventually learn, but after she learned that this beast she'd fallen in love with. That alone infuriated him. He'd found out that she was in love with this creature-though she defended the monster with every breath and told Maxence that the thing was no monster, but an intelligent, kind person who was in every way Maxence's better by far-and was going to kill it. Then, perhaps, the brat would break and agree to his demands out of grief.

And if the beast was dead, he could reveal that Selene was alive, claiming he'd saved her, and would promise to "love" her despite the damage done to her mind. The girl had powerful magic, magic that could be drained and sold. Magic that would make him rich. He smiled, a tight, ugly smile. It didn't hurt that she was a beauty, too.

He climbed the gate-which refused to open, as snow began to fall from the sky. A surety that Selene wouldn't dare come after. Snow and cold weakened the brat, and she wouldn't dare even try and come after him. He doubted that she even had enough energy by this point to break the bonds that held her hidden.

And after he killed this beast, he'd have everything.

…. …. ….

Klaus sat slumped in a chair near the cracked window, facing the wall blankly. Who knew heartbreak would be so horrible? He'd accepted that she wasn't coming back. But still he hoped. He couldn't stop that little bit of hope that persisted in his chest. And the only thing that reminded him he was still alive was the chilled draft that poured through the crack in the window.

There was a bang and a crash as the heavy door flew open, knocking over something on the little table next to it-the magical mirror-shattering it. Glass shards flew all around the floor, leaving a glittering carpet. Klaus looked over apathetically at the noise. There stood a man with dark hair and enraged black eyes, "You." He said, sounding murderous, "You killed her!" Maxence had no doubt that slut would've told the beast who he was and spun all sorts of tales, so he decided to be safe and pretend to be one of her many brothers.

Klaus froze, "I...have killed no one."

"You caused Selene to die! You caused my sister to die! She came back to the village a few weeks ago, weak as a kitten in the spring, and collapsed, dead of fear and fright! You will die to make up for her death!" Maxence roared, drawing his sword.

Klaus froze, his soul feeling shattered, like the mirror on the floor. Selene...was dead...because of...him…

"Kill me then." Klaus said as he stood up, voice and face emotionless as the cracked stone which was now his heart. "Go on. I deserve it."

Maxence hesitated. He had expected to have to fight a monster, yet here the monster was, begging for death. He shrugged and approached, raising his sword to strike down the half-lion half-man creature. He thrust it forward, and it stabbed the beast in the chest, a few inches below the heart…

"NO!" came the shriek from behind him. A wave of heat washed through the room, knocking Maxence of balance. He released the sword, which was still in the creature, who was wide eyed and still at the sound of the new voice. Or the familiar voice, more like.

There in the doorway stood Selene, in a ragged dress and cloak, hair stringy and wet from the melted snow-it'd begun to blizzard outside-and face enraged. "HOW DARE YOU!" She screamed, charging the large man. She shoved him, and he stumbled, caught off guard. Maxence fell backwards, so far that he hit the large window, shattering it and falling through it. He started to yell as he fell, then it suddenly disappeared, too soon for him to have hit the ground. But Selene didn't care. She was to focused on the man who started to slump to the floor, the sword in his chest falling out and clattering on the floor.

She rushed over and caught him, easing his passage to the floor. Tears were streaming down her face. She pulled off her cloak and bundled it up, pressing it to the wound in his chest. "Klaus! I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! Please don't leave me, please! I'll do anything if you just LIVE!" She cried, sobbing. "I'll marry you, I'll do whatever it takes! Just don't die on me, Klaus!"

There was a flash of light, and when it disappeared there was no longer the half-lion man lying there. It was a blonde, violet eyed man. Who still had a hole in his chest.

His vision was going fuzzy, but he saw two silver eyes, flecked with gold and bronze. They were filled with tears and puffy. He reached a hand up and touched her face. "You came back." he whispered.

She choked on a sob before answering, giving him a watery smile even as tears slipped down her cheek, onto his hand, "I promised I would, didn't I? It just took me a little while. Oh, Klaus...I'm so sorry...it's all my fault!"

"I got to see you again…" his voice was fading, "That's all I wanted…" He slipped into unconsciousness, but was still alive. Barely.

A shimmer caught her eyes, and she looked up. There stood a beautiful fairy in a blue gown with long blue hair and gossamer, sky-blue wings, and a tiara with a sapphire on her forehead. "Young one, you've broken the curse set upon this place. You've taught him love."

"I don't care about the stupid curse!" Selene wailed, "He's dying and it's my fault!" She was still pressing on the wound, but blood had covered her hands, having soaked through the cloth.

"There is a way to save him." The fairy said, "But it's a desperate person's spell."

"I _am_ desperate!" she cried, "I'll do _anything_! Please!"

"Very well. I will bind your life forces." The fairy leaned forward, and plucked a gold and purple magical thread from the chest of Klaus and another, this one a shimmering silver, gold and bronze mix, from Selene's. Working quickly with smooth, graceful motions, she firmly tied them together. When she released it, they vanished. Selene gasped as the blood started to disappear, the when she pulled the cloak away, the wound was healing before her eyes. Soon, it disappeared entirely, not even leaving a scar. A few moments later, he grunted, propping himself on his elbows looking confused.

Selene started crying anew, and threw her arms around him, "You're alive!"

He looked startled, but returned her embrace, holding her close.

The fairy smiled and caught his eye, "That was the whole lesson of the curse I placed. You didn't understand love or compassion, and you were causing others to suffer for it. You've passed the test well."

The fairy started to fade, and Selene twisted in Klaus arms to face her. "I don't even know your name!"

"Brunhild."

"Thank you, Brunhild. Thank you."

The fairy smiled as she left, returning to the fairy world. "And don't worry about Maxence, he's going to get what's coming to him." Her voice said as she disappeared entirely.

"Well, it sure took you long enough, brother. It was getting boring, not being able to say anything. Shadows can't really speak." Came a voice from the open doorway.

"At least you had human form, Percy. I was stuck as a _cat_!" grumped a younger voice.

The two young lovers looked up and Selene laughed. That was definitely Elias' voice. "So it seems you two have become human again."

"Quite so. The rest of the family and the servants became visible as well. They were all in the ballroom when the curse went into effect, so they became frozen in time and invisible. I, who had just left and was outside the room, became a shadow. Elias, I believe was watching you interact with the fairy, who, as he told me, was disguised as the old woman. He got caught in the curse and ended up as a cat. From what I've gleaned, your form, Klaus, was to see if someone could love you despite it." He winked at Selene, "Good job, little sister. You've turned the Sir Stiff into a man again."

Selene blushed, realizing the position she was in, wrapped up in Klaus' arms. She tried to get up, but Klaus only tightened his arms. "It seems it's made you no less annoying, Percival, that time spent as a shadow." Klaus said airily. "Now, would you give us some privacy?"

"Hmm?!" Selene's eyes widened.

"Huh?" Elias looked confused, while Percy just looked amused.

"Sure thing, little brother. Come on Elias, let's go explain things to mom and dad. Plus, you probably don't want to be here."

"Why not?"

"Poor, little, innocent brother of mine." Percy sighed, leaning down and whispering something in Elias' ear. Elias flushed red. Percy slung his arm around his brother's shoulders and led him away, closing the door.

"Uh, what's he hinting to…?" Selene said nervously. Klaus turned her around promptly kissed her. "Mmph!"

"That I'm not going to let you go again." Klaus smirked, leaning his forehead against hers, "I learned my lesson." He kissed her again.


	39. Chapter 31

Hey Hey Hey! How are y'all? I'm doing pretty well myself. Tired, but, then again, what else is new? I've got another blood drive for Key Club that I'm the chairperson of for tomorrow. And I get to give blood this time because I'm old enough now! Yay! Granted, I'm the very last person who'll go, but still.

And we reach the greenhouse blurb of the story! What fun! In the next chapter, we learn something key to Selene, but in this one, we get to see a little of Klaus arguing with a door! I actually really loved it when he argued with the door in the actual story-it was ridiculously funny! The door _totally_ sassed him.

* * *

Chapter 31

Talk about saved by the bell...that might have gotten _really_ awkward…

I slid into my seat just as the bell that starts class goes off. I secretly put Elias' berries on top of his bag and slid Yukiya's back onto his desk behind me. Elias gives me a confused look (I'm not Luca-I don't cut it so close. Speaking of that boy, he's skipped again…not that I can blame him...it's positively lovely outside...I almost wish I could skip...I might chance it once or twice after-if-I get accepted), and I smile to let him know I'm fine and was just running a little late. He raised an eyebrow but turned back and did nothing more.

Professor Merkulova began lecturing about different kinds of sleep potions-out next unit-and different herbs that were useful for this. I'm almost zoned out, thinking about what had happened in the office, when I hear my name. "Miss Fonix, would you like to tell us the name of a non-magic herb that produces a calming scent?"

I snapped back into attention, "Lavender tends to be the most popular one, due to the fact that it's really common and easy to recognize-mint is another common one for similar reasons."

"Correct. Good job."

I nod, slightly smiling, and my thoughts drift off again, this time back to my dream. Would I really be seeing my father soon? How soon was soon, anyway? Knowing my mother, soon would mean from in the next couple of days to the next couple of months…

…. …. ….

I ended up not really paying attention the entire class. Elias graciously lended me his notes so I could copy them...he seemed to accept it when I told him I had a lot on my mind, thankfully-it was the truth, to be honest.

I managed to focus a bit better in my next three classes, which, sadly, didn't at all help me in Practical Magic. I completely bungled the charm-to make the red apple turn blue-and somehow ended up making the apple explode. Which meant I had to be late for Professor G's class because I had to clean it up. It ended up fine, though, because Professor G is an awesome professor and very forgiving of occasional blunders.

…. …. ….

At lunch, though, I was asked to sing. Out of nowhere, one of Isa's good friends, Elycia, asked if I'd sing a song.

"Isa mentioned that you're apparently good at singing. Would you mind singing a song for us?" Elycia inquired, curious smile on her face.

"Oh, umm, sure! Is there any particular type of song? I mostly only know Terran songs, but if you've got a specific genre that might help me choose one…" I replied.

"How about a fun one to sing for you?" Alex suggested.

"Sure. Let me think about that. That narrows it down to a few hundred instead of a few thousand." Everyone at the table laughed. I thought for a moment before coming up with a good one. "Oh! I've got it! It's title translates to 'True Love' and it's an interesting one. My favorite line translates to 'At the same time, I wanna hug you, I wanna wrap my hands around your neck!' It's great." They all laughed again. "Here I go;"

" _Sometimes I hate every single stupid word you say_

 _Sometimes I wanna slap you in your whole face (whoa oh oh)_

 _There's no one quite like you, you push all my buttons down_

 _I know life would suck without you (whoa oh oh)_

 _At the same time, I wanna hug you_

 _I wanna wrap my hands around your neck_

 _You're a butthole, but I love you_

 _And you make me so mad, I ask myself_

 _Why I'm still here, or where could I go_

 _You're the only love I've ever known_

 _But I hate you, I really hate you_

 _So much I think it must be_

 _True love, true love_

 _It must be true love_

 _Nothin' else can break my heart like_

 _True love, true love_

 _It must be true love_

 _No one else can break my heart like you_

 _Whoa oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _Whoa oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _Just once tried to wrap your little brain around my feelings_

 _Just once please try no to be so mean (whoa oh oh)_

 _Repeat after me now R-O-M-A-N-C-E-E-E_

 _Come on I'll say it slowly (Romance!)_

 _You can do it babe_

 _At the same time, I wanna hug you_

 _I wanna wrap my hands around your neck_

 _You're a butthole, but I love you_

 _And you make me so mad, I ask myself_

 _Why I'm still here, or where could I go_

 _You're the only love I've ever known_

 _But I hate you, I really hate you_

 _So much I think it must be_

 _True love, true love_

 _It must be true love_

 _Nothin' else can break my heart like_

 _True love, true love_

 _It must be true love_

 _No one else can break my heart like you_

 _Whoa oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _Whoa oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _Think it must be love (I love you)_

 _I think it must be love (I love you)_

 _Why do you rub me up the wrong way?_

 _Why do you say the things that you say?_

 _Sometimes I wonder how we ever came to be_

 _But without you I'm incomplete_

 _I think it must be_

 _True love, it must be true love_

 _It must be true love_

 _Nothin' else can break my heart like_

 _True love, true love_

 _It must be true love_

 _No one else can break my heart like you_

 _Whoa oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _Whoa oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _No one else can break my heart like you_

 _Whoa oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _Whoa oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _No one else can break my heart like you~_ "

They clapped. "That was awesome!" (Elycia) "Woah! Who knew that thou could singest like that?!" (Who else but Alex?) "Even if I couldn't understand it, it was really cool!" (random friend) " _Smashing job, mate._ " (Zave)

"Zave, that's not Old English, that's British!" I laughed as he smiled.

"Eh, same thing."

"No, no it's not!" I snickered as he shrugged, still smiling. After that, though, I kind of stayed out of the conversations and stared into space. It's was a Yukiya day, where vague daydreams seemed more important to actual learning...everyone's allowed one of those days every once in awhile, right…?

…. …. ….

After classes, I trudged to the prefect's office, knowing I'd get scolded for the exploding apple...and now that I think about it, most likely for the purple eyebrows as well…

As it turned out, Klaus wasn't to terribly harsh with me about both of those things (either he wasn't being so mean, I was just getting so used to it that it didn't seem so bad), and as it turns out, we were going to go on a field trip.

"To the greenhouse? We have one of those here?" I asked, incredulous.

"Of course. This is the best school in the country, after all." He rolled his eyes, "You don't have any homework, do you?"

"None due tomorrow." Which was nice. I had managed to get what little I had done during lunch-before I ate, sang a song, then daydreamed-and I can always make the final few tweaks on my amulet tomorrow night.

"Then you can just leave your stuff in here instead of dropping it off at the dorm-it's the opposite way." He headed out the door.

I decided to leave my phone behind. I also quickly remove the cloak and set it on top of my bag-I don't want it to get caught on branches or anything, and plus, Klaus left his on a hook in the office. I stuck my wand in my waistband I shut the door behind me and run to catch up with him. He has a really big stride...and walks fast…

I follow him silently to the destination. It's not an awkward or tense silence, but a surprisingly comfortable one. I think we were starting to get on better as the days went on. Which, to be honest, was kind of nice-I was getting tired of arguing constantly. Now it's more of a banter than straight-out bickering. But for now, the silence was nice.

Once we got to the greenhouse-which was utterly ginormous, by the way-however, it was full-work-mode time, apparently. He took me to the other end of the greenhouse. "Today we're going to go through the greenhouse and you're going to point out as many of the plants as you can, telling me their name and what you can of their properties, as well as how to distinguish from lookalikes, if there are any. Start." He commanded. I sighed and began with the plant closest to me, the little grove of trees.

"Those are Arcanum trees. They possess excellent capabilities for conducting magic, which is why the bark and wood of those trees is ideal for the making of wands. Their roots are very thin and long, but unusually strong, and the leaves make good dampeners for magic spells and are typically used in protection charms and to line rooms dedicated for experimenting with potentially dangerous magics." I said, pointing to them. "They look somewhat like an oak, but with leaves like that of a beech tree. Then there's the fact that they're blue leaves, which makes them easy to pick out. Cutting down an Arcanum tree without a special permit is very illegal because they are pretty rare."

"Correct. Next…?"

I moved over to a huge, fiery colored flower with blue veins that went above the height of my waist.. "Look it! It's a Solnox flower! I've always wanted to see one...it's very pretty…"

"What are its properties?"

"In the sunlight, during the day, it's this color. At night, though, they supposedly turn a deep blue color and glow slightly. Hence it's name, Solnox-Sol meaning sun, Nox meaning night. That's mostly what it does. It doesn't have any known magical properties, and is mostly used as a more decorative plant, although they can be very hard to find in nature. There are no plants to really confuse it with."

"Good."

And so it went on and on. When we came to a plant I didn't know, one I didn't know everything about, or one that I had only heard the name, he explained it in detail. It was kind of fun, to be honest. This place was huge. We had gotten through a huge chunk of it before I realized I was getting cold-the nice warmth of this place was fading fast. The light seemed to accompany it. When I shivered a bit, Klaus seemed to snap to attention, and looked at the sky. He mutter a curse under his breath and ran off to where the door was. I, confused, followed him. When I got there, he was arguing with a door.

"What do you mean you can't let us out?!" He demanded.

"I'm set to be closed from eight in the afternoon to six in the morning. I will not open until then." The door replied. A talking door. That was new. Though after the acceptance letter and the index book in the library I shouldn't be surprised.

Wait, if it didn't open until six in the morning...that meant...it was...locked…

* * *

Selene: Oh crap...the next chapter...Authoress, do we really have to show that particular scene?

Authoress: Yes. We do. It's a crucial part of your character. Plus, it's the biggest thing that shows you're not a Mary Sue.

Selene: But what if I want to be seen as one...?

Authoress: And you just proved that you weren't one by revealing that you don't want others to know your weaknesses. Plus, the scene is needed for some things later in the story, so deal.

Selene (whining): But Authoress…!

Authoress: Oh, stop whining. Elsewise, I'll tattle to Klaus, and _he_ can deal with you.

Selene: You wouldn't dare!

Authoress: Remember who you're talking to, whelp!

Selene (*sweatdrop*): Really, Authoress, really?

Authoress: You betcha! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a book to read. I'm halfway through my rereading of _Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports_ , and I really want to get it done tonight so I can check out more books at the library before school starts tomorrow. Oh, wait. Blood Drive. Dang it. At least I've got the next two in the series… (Wanders off to go read)

Selene: Wow. I can't believe she's written this much of the story. She gets so easily sidetracked.

Serge (who popped up out of nowhere): I know, right? Like, yesterday, she spent about two hours researching Tarot Cards for chapter 45. Two hours for one chapter.

Selene: Serge. Please let people know before you charge into a room. Unlike me, most people tend to get freaked out about it…

Serge (who got distracted by something in the room): Hmm? Did you say something?

Selene: Squirrel.

Serge: Okay, then. Though I'm not sure what squirrels have to do with anything. (skips merrily out of the room)

Selene (*sigh* mutters under her breath): Meaning, I called you something like a dog that gets distracted by every squirrel it sees. Of course, no one here has seen _Up_ …(sigh)


	40. Chapter 32

Well, if anyone was thinking our dear Selene was a Mary Sue, this chapter is a great fact against it. She's got irrational fears too. :)

Man, I'm posting this after I finished my honors chem test and geeze was it a killer! Only twenty multiple choice questions-fact of the matter is, the less questions on a chem test, the harder each on is. Ugh...I really should have taken regular chem, especially since I'm kind of against STEM and plan on dual majoring in Literature and Creative Writing when I get to college. Why'd I take this class again? Oh, that's right, so my dad would stop bugging me and pushing me towards taking more math and science classes! But, I think he's finally understanding I'm not a person of that mindset and and to stubborn to give up english and he's let up a bit as long as I keep my grades up. Yay! Let's hope I don't fail! I can do this! Glass is 100% full! Wheee!

* * *

Chapter 32

Klaus' POV (this chapter is entirely in his POV…)

"I am a prefect! I demand that you open up!"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot. You will just have to wait until morning. You should have thought ahead better. Good night." It fell silent and I could tell it was done speaking to me. I turned around to tell Selene I was sorry for losing track of time, but I froze when I saw her.

Her face was entirely white, no color in it whatsoever, and she was trembling violently, her face frozen with a terrified look. "Selene…?" She ignored me and ran suddenly to the door, trying desperately to open it, her hands shaking so bad she could hardly hold the handle. And before I could say anything she darted off. I was taken completely aback. She seemed terrified out of her mind. What the...I went after her, trying to find her, make sure she was okay. I was suddenly very, very worried. I had never seen her act this way…

I found her curled up in a grassy clearing, next to the grove of Arcanum trees. She had her knees pulled to her chest and her hands holding her head as she rocked back and forth slightly, looking more panicked and scared than I had ever seen anyone. Ever.

I carefully approached her, and as I got closer, I heard that she was muttering hysterically to herself. "It's okay...it's okay...I'm not really trapped...it'll open in the morning...it will...it will…it will...who am I kidding?!...I'm trapped!...trapped...trapped...!"

I crouched down next to her. She didn't even notice I was there. I put my hand on her shoulder and said her name. It made her jump violently. Her head jerked up and I saw tears streaming down her face, the look of a frightened, cornered animal in her eyes as she looked rapidly from side to side. "Selene...what's wrong?" I asked. She was so scared it was starting to scare me. And she was trembling so hard it seemed as if she was about to shatter. I sat down and reflexively pulled her into my arms, where she tensed for a moment before she started to sob into my chest, utterly terrified. What was going on…?

Wait. Is it possible for her to be scared of being locked in somewhere (or something)? I remembered how early last week when I threatened her with detention-i.e. being locked in the detention center-she paled and did what she could to avoid it. It seems to me as if that's the case, judging from the state she's in. I don't think I've ever seen or felt someone shaking so hard, someone this completely distraught to this point…

I couldn't tell you how long it took her to calm down. I had been rubbing her back and murmuring soothing words for at least a good half hour before she stopped crying. Her breathing was still uneven and hiccupy.

"Sorry...I'm being a big wimp…" She sniffed, face still buried in my chest. In any other situation, I would enjoy holding her like this, but right now, I was far too worried to think about that.

"There's nothing wrong with having fears. You're scared of being locked in, aren't you?"

She nodded and looked up a bit, still not really meeting my eyes, "I'm fine if I'm able to unlock it, get out myself, but if I'm trapped and unable to free myself, I just completely panic and lose any wits I might have..." She scoots away and I feel myself become a little colder without her warmth against me. She buries her face in her knees, hugging them to her chest, "It's stupid and embarrassing, but I can't help it…" she whispers. "Thanks, though...for not making fun of me about it...for being so nice about it and all…"

"I can hardly be so cruel to do such as that. I'm not a monster."

"I know. You're actually a pretty nice guy beneath that cocky, arrogant, and jerkish exterior of yours, but you're no monster."

I snorted. She's clearly feeling better if she's still able to insult me. "At least I'm not an annoying girl who can make up her mind if she's a kid, a teenager, or a mother, and likes to pester the crap out of people."

"That's really only you-well, and occasionally Eli-I pester the crap out of. It's not my fault you get so annoyed. Everyone else thinks it's more funny than obnoxious." She looks up a bit, with a slight watery smile...watery and Selene are two words that don't belong in the same sentence.

"Oh is it now?" A teasing lilt crept into my tone, "I was under the impression that you drove everyone nuts." She did drive me crazy, but for reasons she had no inkling of.

She pouts and sticks out her tongue, "Meanie." She laughs softly, though, and scrubs at her face with her sleeves to remove the tear marks, though it does nothing to get rid of her puffy eyes, "Man, this must be a record. Crying two times in a day? That hasn't happened since I was little…" She's speaking quietly to herself, "I guess it helps, that this is more like outside and all, seeing as it wasn't as long of a panic attack as usual.

"What do you mean by that? Crying two times?" I ask before my brain could catch up with my mouth. What a Selene move, Klaus, what a Selene move.

"Oh, yeah, 'bout that…" She laughed sheepishly, "Remember that dream I told you about…? Well, I felt like being a baby and crying about it when it ended…"

I rolled my eyes, "You miss your late mother. So what? There's nothing wrong with that. In fact," I said in a very matter-of-fact tone, "I think it makes you stronger, being able to admit your weaknesses. A lot of people can't do that."

"Then what about you? Can you admit your weaknesses?" She asked, taking me by surprise. At least the curious Selene was better than the sobbing, frightened one… "Come on, you know mine!" she whined, "The least you can do is tell me yours."

I sighed, "Alright then. Clearly you won't stop pestering me until I do."

"Exactly!" She giggled, making me smile just a bit.

I glanced to the side and had an idea, "Oh. Look. The Solnox."

She looked over at it and I heard a little gasp of surprise escape her, "It's beautiful…" She gazed at it for a minute, smiling softly, before abruptly turning back to me, determined look on her face. "Now. About your fears. Tell me. I want to hear your deepest, darkest secrets. You know mine, therefore I get to know yours. I will resort to blackmail if you do not comply. Plus, you said you would." I almost wish crying Selene was back...at least she didn't do this sort of stuff. And what would she blackmail me with, anyway?

I sighed heavily, "Calm your horses, shortie." She glowered at me when I called her that, making me smirk, "I'll have to say they aren't as dramatic as yours." She shrugged and gestured for me to go on. I took a breath and began, "I'd have to say my biggest fear is failure of my dreams." She kept staring at me, and I could feel the unasked question radiating off of her. "Well, my father has been planning on me going into the Ministry of Magic as a career for most of my life. Only, I have no desire to do so. What I really want to do, and this is something not even Elias knows, is to become a...a professor."

"Seriously?" I couldn't read her expression.

"I swear if you make fun of me for it I'll spread your fear of locked places all around the school."

She laughed, "I wasn't going to. I was going to say that's a great goal. Believe it or not, you're actually a decent teacher. You've taught me how to somewhat control my wind magic in a week-something I've been attempting my entire life. Although, the fact that it's actually a lot easier to use magic in Myula than it is in Terra probably helps. Elias once said that you were a really good teacher, that you taught him magic from the get-go. It shouldn't be all that hard for you to get a teaching job somewhere." She smiled kindly at me, though it was more of a grin than a smile.

"He said that, did he? Only thing is, I haven't told my father this yet, and, well, my father isn't someone who changes his mind easily and someone you don't want to cross if you don't have to. He's dead-set on making me work in the Ministry. I've never told him because I wasn't sure I'd actually be able to obtain a job at the school I really want to teach at-this one."

"I think they'd be stupid not to hire you. From what I've heard, you're one of the best students this school has ever had." She said.

"That's not the only factor, though, grades. They want specifics of certain things. Professor Merkulova wasn't the top ranked student, but an average one. But he teaches well and is well-liked by his students, and students tend to be able to do well in his classes. I'm afraid that if I'd try, I'd fail. And the humiliation I'd suffer if I made this big stand against my father only to fail miserably. But now, I've actually got some sort of a chance."

"Really? That's great! What is it? And by the way, your father sounds like a big meanie. I'm sure glad he's not my father."

"Well," I began, ignoring her comment about my father, "after you became my buddy, the headmaster made me a deal. If you could pass your trial and keep decent grades for the rest of the year, I would be able to graduate this year and start as a teacher next year."

Her eyes popped, "I have to pass now!" She playfully moaned, burying her face in her knees again, "I don't think I could bear your wrath if I didn't…why did I push so much? Now I'm pressured!"

"Curiosity killed the cat."

She raised her head and stuck her tongue out at me again, "You forgot the second half of that saying! Everyone always forgets the second half!"

I raised an eyebrow, smirking once more, "And what would it be?"

"Curiosity may have killed the cat-but satisfaction brought it back!" She rants.

I burst into laughter. This was too good.

"What's so funny?!" She demanded.

"It's just that...that's so typically you!" I was almost rolling on the ground at this point. She looked like she was restraining a smile (and failing horribly), but soon gave up on her endeavor and began giggling. Her giggle wasn't high-pitched and annoying, like some girls I know, but deeper and closer to a chuckle or a laugh. It was quite nice, to be honest, the kind of laughter that made one just want to join in with the fun.

After a while we both calmed down. She fell onto her back and stared at the sky, the stars visible through the glass. "We better get to sleep soon. We still have school tomorrow." She pulled out her wand from her waistband, putting it off to the side, within easy grabbing reach.

I 'mhm'd and lay down, making sure to keep a certain distance from her. Otherwise I'd be tempted to...do things. Things I shouldn't do. So I'm going to keep a safe distance away.

"'Night…" she murmured.

"Good night." I whispered in return. But she was clearly already asleep, her breathing deep and even. The panic attack earlier must have worn her out.

On a side note, I whipped out my wand and sent a quick message to the headmaster and the dorm mother of the girls' dorm. That should keep her from getting in any trouble. I propped myself up on my elbows and stole a look at Selene. She looked so peaceful asleep like that, her position reminiscent of a napping cat, curled into a tight ball, the moon and starlight shining on her, making her skin look pure white and her hair almost silver. Only, she was shaking slightly. Shivering. That's right-she got cold easy. I sighed, shaking my head, and slid my jacket off. I got up and went to go lay it on top of her. She fit easily beneath it, curled up like that. She was small compared to me, easy as it was to forget that when she was active.

I heard a swoosh and looked over. There was a large bird, its feathers a mix of blacks and greys, giving it the appearance of being made of ash, that had landed on a branch of the closest Arcanum tree. It gazed at me, as though it was deciding whether I was worthy. How it got into the greenhouse, which was enchanted to keep things from transporting in and out magically, I have no idea. Unless it was an extremely powerful magical creature, it shouldn't be able to get in. Therefore, I should be careful.

It stared at me with critical eyes, then bowed. Huh? Then, with another whoosh into the air and the blink of an eye, it was gone, leaving me very confused. But since there wasn't much I could do now that it was gone. I shook my head and lay down again a few feet from Selene, closing me eyes. Maybe I just imagined it. But, then again, that type of thinking has gotten people in big trouble before. Maybe Selene would know something-after all, it appeared when I was with her, and she has answers to the most random, strange questions you could possibly think of…

I feel a warmth press against my back, causing me to jump slightly. I slowly shift and turn around. Selene was now cuddled up against me. Against me. I flushed-she wasn't normally so close to me and for some reason my heart was pounding and I had a sudden fear that she'd hear it, it was so loud, as she snuggled into my chest. After a while of being perfectly still, I realized that she was still deeply asleep, and knowing her, she had just gravitated to whatever warm being was closest to her while she slept. She was back in child mode, her face twitching with phantom emotions as she slept. It was a flicker of a smile, followed by a slight frown, then she scrunched up her face like she was pouting. It was so amusing, seeing her like this, I could have watched her forever.

What's with these mushy thoughts? It's starting to make me think that love is some sort of disease. But, I thought while brushing a lock of hair off her face, if it is a sickness, I don't think that I mind it all that much…

* * *

Selene (snickering): Wow Klaus, I didn't know you could get so mushy!

Klaus: I didn't think so either. I think you were magically messing with my brain.

Selene: Lies! You did it on your own!

Klaus: I've yet to prove that you don't subconsciously affect people with your magic, causing them to act abnormally.

Selene: Whatever helps you sleep at night.

Klaus (pulling her into his arms): Want to know what really helps me sleep at night?

Selene (squirming): Not particularly. I think I can guess from your actions.

Klaus (muttering seductively in her ear): Having you by my side.

Selene (red faced and defensive): Whatever! Just let me gooooo~!

Authoress: Klaus, if you want to be so loud, take it somewhere else. I'm in the zone and don't want to be disturbed! I've gotten into a place where I'm practically churning out chapters and I'm so far along in Elemental, I've started Elias' story! I'm proud of myself! Now shoo!

Klaus: Whatever you say, boss. (picks up a protesting Selene and carries her off)

Elias (who overheard Authoress and kept walking): I really wish she wouldn't write our story. I was such a jerk for most of it.

Katalina: Hey, you had good reasons. You were worried about your friend, and I was a major screw up when it came to my magic. You got better, honest. And, look at what came of it. (stands of her tiptoes and give her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, causing him to promptly flush scarlet)


	41. Chapter 33

Man, I really am glad I've got a phone. I've got a reminder set for every two weeks for the next six months to remind me to post chapters for this on time! This chapter alludes to a Selene's weekend plans. Which involve Elias and his obsession with studying. :{)

* * *

Day 9 of Selene's Trial. Thursday.

* * *

Chapter 33

I feel like I'm forgetting something. Truly, I do-what, for the life of me, I do not know. I remember that I am in the greenhouse. Why? Oh yeah, we lost track of time and Klaus neglected to mention that it locks itself at a certain time. Which caused me to have a panic attack. And embarrassing myself with the sobbing mess which I become when locked in and unable to free myself. I've mentally dubbed this strange fear of mine LOFAphobia-meaning 'Loss Of Freedom Accessibility phobia'. It's sort of similar to clithrophobia or cleithrophobia, which is the fear of being enclosed-only I'm perfectly fine if I know that I can free myself. I think it's the whole cage mentality that's the biggest problem.

If anything, the whole thing had lead to a nice conversation between the two of us...and now I knew that if I didn't pass my trial Klaus wouldn't be able to realize his dream of becoming a professor. Lucky me…

But I was strangely warm and comfortable compared to how chilly the greenhouse was the previous night. I shift and realize that I'm not upon the ground when I hear a grunt. I open my eyes to see that I'm on top of my buddy. Yikes.

He half-lidded glares at me, but the look in his violet eyes conveyed something I couldn't quite place. And he had some coloring in his cheeks-whether he was flushed from heat or if he was blushing. It was probably heat...my body temperature _is_ 100 degrees fahrenheit... "Finally. You're awake. Is it customary to cling to people while you sleep in Terra?"

"Oops…sorry...that's really just me...my brothers always say I'm clingy when I sleep..." I bit my lower lip awkwardly.

"Well, you're awake now. Could you get off of me? You're heavy."

I rolled off of him, hanging my head, embarrassed, "Sorry...do you happen to know what time it is...?"

"Nearly six." It was just barely light outside.

I looked around and found my wand, which lay on the ground several feet away. I grabbed it and darted off, towards where the door was. As I approached it, I heard a click and knew it was open. I knew it had opened. I went to it and threw it open, running outside, arms thrown wide and face towards the sky. I turned and fell back onto dew-damp grass, wriggling a bit in the feeling of relief and freedom I felt as soon as I had heard that click. "I'M FREEEEEEEE~!"

Klaus exited the greenhouse too, and rolled his eyes when he saw me. "You're getting covered in grass and dirt."

"So?" I grinned at the sky, "I've got a second uniform back at the dorm! I'm freeeeeee~!" I giggled and sat up, knowing I had a bunch of grass in my hair. Unlike the grass in the greenhouses, this had been cut recently. But I was still grinning like a maniac.

He opened his mouth to say something, but clearly thought better than it and just shook his head and rolled his eyes instead. I giggled and said, "Good choice. Now, I'm going to go shower and get ready for school! _See you later alligator!_ " I ran off and I thought I heard him say the response to the saying.

" _In a while crocodile._ "

But that can't be it. He doesn't know English. Eh, it must be phantom hearing or in my head. It wouldn't be the first time I've heard voices in my head. Hehe…

Klaus' POV

I watch her run off. I think she heard me respond in English. But she'll probably dismiss it to the voices in her head or something...I don't doubt she'd say she's got voices in her head, knowing her. I can hardly wait until I speak English well enough to shock her with it. That will be well worth this effort.

I can't believe how I acted back there, when she was waking up. "Get off. You're heavy." She's right, tact is something I never employ with her. To be honest, I was uncharacteristically flustered and awkward and just blurted what first came to mind. She's right, though, I'm pretty rude without meaning to be. She doesn't seem to mind what I say when it comes to it being rude and tactless at this point. She's amazing at adjusting to change. She went from a childish girl teaching herself magic in a hidden field, with her own schedule and timetable and freedom, to doing as well as she is in this school, with a strict schedule and lots of work-and still having time to make friends and enjoy herself. She's incredible at balancing her time, better than I am, I'd dare say. And she has a strong work ethic, even if her motivation is "work before play"-in other words, she gets her work done as soon as she can so she can go off and play.

In all honesty, she wasn't actually that heavy-in fact, she was a lot lighter than I would have guessed. She couldn't have been more than 110 pounds. I think _Elias_ weighs more than her by at least fifteen or so pounds. And Elias isn't too heavy himself-he spends too much time with his nose in a book to properly build muscle. Perhaps Selene intervening and snatching away his textbooks is for the better. And does she have hollow bones like a bird or something? Where in this world, and the other world, does she put the unfathomable amount of food she consumes on a daily basis? Or does her magical fire just eat it before she has time to actually absorb the nutrients?

And she's as ever-changing as the fire she wields. It's always something new with her, and I'm always learning something new when I'm with her. Maybe that's why I fell in love, because she's the constant change in a life I had previously thought was going to end up exactly the way I had foreseen it. But with her, it's a lot more fun. And fun is something that had been rare since I had to grow up.

I smile and head off to my dorm room, for it is time to get ready for school.

Selene's POV

I darted into class, twentyish minutes early. By the time I had gotten everything together and showered, I barely had time to eat a rushed breakfast and run to class. Amelia, thankfully had already left by the time I had showered, saving me from questions I didn't have time or wish to answer. That can be saved for later. After I figure out things.

Because that was really embarrassing. Sure, I wouldn't have given a single care if it was pretty much anyone else, but it was...Klaus.

Klaus was a teacher, a buddy, someone who you pretty much don't even touch because he has this almost visible bubble around him that gives the aura of "untouchable" both literally and physically. Plus, being so close to him like that makes me _really_ uncomfortable and I don't know why. I can't figure it out, and I'm grateful I had enough wits to _mostly_ hide my awkwardness...because it was very awkward if I'm being honest…

I shake my head, determined to act normal, be normal, feel normal. I am as normal as Selene can ever be. I walk over to Elias' desk, where he is sitting. Studying. As per usual. He's always about thirty minutes early to class and is studying the entire time. In fact, he's working so hard that he about jumps out of his chair when I snatch his book. "Do you ever do anything else…?" I whine.

"Give that back!" He demands, glaring.

Using my finger to hold the page, I close it and read the title aloud, " _Advanced Magical Theories of Magic Tools and Their Origins_. Yikes, Eli, this sounds like a nap waiting to happen, mostly because it seems to be thicker than my head. Have you ever thought of actually having a social life? Even just a little one? Because a social life of any kind requires human interaction with others, which means interacting with other people, not books."

"Selene Celeste Fonix!" He snaps, "Just give it back to me!" Aww...he's such an adorwable wittle tuff guy...! Pfft.

"Ooo….the _dreaded_ middle name! I'm in trouble now!" I snicker.

"Selene!"

"Nope. You're going to talk to someone instead of study. Namely, Me. I'm bored."

"Then why don't you study and get something productive done instead of fooling around!?" He snapped. Snappy, snappy child. Someone clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Or maybe Luca was pestering him earlier again. Possibly both.

"There's more to life than grades, Eli!" I scolded, "One day, you won't remember all the tests and assignments you've done-what you'll remember is the emotions, the feelings you had while you were with other people. Not some random little test. Paper wears, grades fade, but emotions last beyond the veil of memory. Therefore, my new job is to make sure that you realize this, and to help you with it. That means that you're going to have to give up some study time. How else are you going to make friends or get a girlfriend or ever get anywhere? Humans tend to hire humans, you know, not robots." I gave him a good talking to, and felt determined to carry out my promise. In fact, I just had an idea for next weekend that might require the aid (or bribery) of his brother and his roommate…

"I don't need friends. Or a girlfriend, for that matter. What I need to do is get back to studying!" He said, extremely curt.

"Liar. Everyone wants friends, even if they don't want to admit it. It's part of being a human-we were not made to be solitary creatures, cut off from everyone." I retorted, "Besides, I'm your friend and there's no way you're getting rid of me."

"Selene. Give. Me. The. Book. BACK. NOW!" He tried to sound threatening, but it only succeeded in making me _try_ not to laugh. Try being the key word.

"Alright, alright, I shall-but only right before class starts!" He tried to snatch it, but I held it out of his reach, giving him a quick closed-eye grin. "Now, Now, Eli, dear. No need to try and force your will upon others, lest thou lookest like thine elder brother!" I teased.

He was getting really peeved with me now. Granted, I was teasing him and playing keep-away, but I had never seen him get this worked up. Let's see how much I feel like being like Klaus and see how far I can go with this…

"Give it!" He stands up and makes another snatch for it, and I again held it out behind me. He might be taller than I am, but I have the advantage of years of playing keep-away with taller older brothers who happen to own the object I'm keeping away.

"Nope." I smirk, feeling like Klaus. Maybe this is why he does it-Elias is so much fun to mess with! I probably won't admit that to Klaus, though…

He takes and angry step forward, anger-red in his face. People are starting to come in to the class, as it starts in about ten minutes. They watch on with interest. I doubt any of them have ever seen Elias this po'd. Luca, who had just walked in, looked as if he was delighted to see Elias this peeved, and was laughing.

"Give it back right now! Or else…!" He growls. I do nothing but keep on smiling.

I wink at him, "Or else what? Do you really want to follow through on that unnamed threat?"

Klaus' POV

I'm headed to Professor Merkulova's classroom to drop off some packets of papers they'll be using in class today. I glance at the paper and see that it's on magical sweets-this isn't something we've ever studied in my classes. There are a few specialized classes on the subject, but my guess is that this just a fun unit to finish up the quarter. It's nearly October after all.

"Or else I'll curse you!" Woah, woah now! Is that...Elias…? I hurry into the classroom to see, at the opposite end of the room, by the windows, an anger-red faced Elias lunge for a book Selene is keeping out of his reach. She reaches back a little too far, and his momentum is a bit too much, and they both fall, Selene toppling backwards, Elias falling forwards.

They disappear with a yelp and a crash. I quickly walk over to the teacher's desk and set the papers down. The half the class that was in the room was watching with interest. I peered down the row to see that they had fallen on top of each other, Selene rubbing her head, and a very-flustered Elias trying to get up, only to have his foot slip and fall again. The whole class is silent as he gets up again.

"Go make out with your girlfriend somewhere else, Goldstein!" A random boy calls. The whole class bursts into laughter and Elias does nothing but grab his book and sit stiffly at his desk, utterly silent and face flaming to the tips of his ears, face extremely annoyed. Selene, on the other hand, starts laughing hysterically, rocking on the ground in laughter.

"Girlfriend?" She shrieks, in a laughter laced-tone, "Try annoying older sister, you'd be closer to the mark!" Well, at least she denied it. In a way. She notices me and starts laughing harder, "I c-can see..why you..like to..m-mess with him...K-k-klaus!" She stutters between laughs. I roll my eyes and head towards the door, "It's tpo much fun n-not to!"

"Dang, Selene, you're either crazy or completely fearless, messing with _both of_ the imperial Goldsteins!" I heard Orlem laugh.

"So what if I'm crazy? All the best people are!" She starts singing a song that she's clearly translating from English.

" _I'm nuts, baby, I'm mad,_

 _The craziest friend that you've ever had._

 _You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone._

 _Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong._

 _Over the bend, entirely bonkers._

 _You like me best when I'm off my rocker._

 _Tell you a secret, I'm not alarmed._

 _So what if I'm crazy? The best people are!_

 _All the best people are crazy, all the best people are..._ " *

I snort as I leave earshot. She's definitely crazy, that's for sure.

* * *

*Mad Hatter by Melanie Martinez

* * *

Authoress: I think this is the first time we've had you in the ender, Aurora. I'm wondering if the readers remember who you are.

Aurora: They would have to have read the new prologue, which you posted a while ago. But I'm Selene's oldest daughter. Honestly, I've been reading this up to this point-I'm not allowed to read more than you are, guys. I've been told I'm not allowed to read ahead to chapter-52, was it, where you are currently Authoress?

Authoress: Yup. About there is where we've gotten prewritten up to.

Aurora: Yeah. There. Mom says I'm not allowed to go ahead of the other readers because it wouldn't be fair. But, from what I've read, my mom isn't all that different now than she was then. Accept, now she's a little more serious, what with nine kids and three more...oh hi Dad! (laughs awkwardly as her father comes into the room-remember, dad's not supposed to know about the triplets!)

Klaus (sternly quiet and scary): Authoress. Why is my daughter reading this story?

Authoress (shrugs with her palms up): Ask your wife, dude. Besides, Aurora's not a little kid anymore. She's fifteen. She's also very mature for her age, something she gets from you. Honestly, I agree with Selene on the point that Aurora kind of deserves to know. Besides, what harm will come of it? The revelation that you were actually a lovesick teenage boy at one point in your life?

Aurora (giggling): It's actually really cute. Besides, it's nothing like the looks you give mom now when you think us kids aren't looking. Some of us did get some wicked observation skills from you and mom.

Klaus (with a visible irk mark and irritated smile): Excuse me. I think I have a conversation waiting for me with my wife.

Authoress and Aurora (withholding giggles): Good luck.

Klaus (rolls his eyes and leaves)

Authoress: When will he learn?

Aurora: Both my parents at least, most likely more, stubborn than earth elementals. They'll never learn. If anything, it's always funny to watch mom win.

Authoress: True, true.


	42. Chapter 34

Guys. This is my last week of my sophomore year of high school. Holy cannoli. When did this happen? I'm still having trouble believing it. Heck, tomorrow's my last full day of school, and it's follow of three half days consisting of two exams each. I spent most of this weekend actually studying. And I don't do that often. And 90% of it was for one class-Honors Chemistry. It's my first exam, and I'm terrified. I'm fairly sure I'm going to pass, but by no means am I going to ace it. By absolutely no means. I'm not good with standardized testing, especially when it's this class. And to make it worse, the final exam doesn't just cover the last semester like a normal final does-it covers the entire freakin' year! I'm in full panic mode on the inside at this point. Never in my life have I ever spent eight hours in a row studying like I did on Saturday. Never. I shouldn't have taken this class. Freshman year, I regretted taking Spanish instead of Latin as my language requirement. This year, I regret taking Honors Chemistry instead of regular. I hope this doesn't become a trend

Thankfully, I'm not to worried about my other five exams. They're not going to give me much trouble. Heck, the study sheet I got for Honors English 10 was insulting to my intelligence-I am literally offended by how flippin' easy it is. It's nearly the same one I've been getting since sixth grade. This class was a disappointment and way too easy. Oh, the problems of a first-world english nerd…

But summer is so close...I like getting up early, I usually like school because it keeps me occupied. But at this point I'm completely burnt out and need a good, long, three-month summer vacation...

Enough about my and my problems. Enjoy the chapter. Selene finally gets Yukiya to open up to her. :{) (}:

* * *

Chapter 34

When I had finally calmed down, which was no easy feat, I went to Elias, "Sorry, bud. I didn't mean to push you that far. Forgive me?"

He gave me a sharp look and further ignored me.

"Come ooooooonnnnn….~" I whined, "I'll make you cookies…~! I would have made some this morning, but I woke up really late and didn't have time..." A little white lie won't hurt.

He sighed, "Forgiven.

"Yay!" I clapped my hands joyously, like a kid, and skipped back to my seat. Cookies always earn forgiveness for minor offenses, at least, in my experience. Yukiya was staring out the window and I realized that I had no clue when he got here. I don't even think anyone else had either (Luca had already left, the bell about to ring, and the class was chattering on happily, interest having turned away from the scene I had caused…). "Dang, 'Kiya! When did you get here? I swear, you're a flippin' ninja!"

He looked at me, looking a bit out of it, a bit pale, to be honest. "Your hair's damp."

"Oh yeah, forgot about that. Eh, it only takes a few seconds to dry. And good morning."

"Morning." He turned back to the window. He needs as much social skills help as Eli, for crying in a bucket...

I sat on the edge of my desk and pulled my wand from my bag. I pointed it at my face and muttered a heat spell. I put a little too much energy into it, though, and it blew my hair straight back and made it flutter down when I cut the spell off. I ran a hand through it. Dry. Great. I pulled my mini brush from my bag and pulled it through my hair. I have no clue what to do with it, so I'll leave it down for now. I'll probably pull it back later today when it gets annoying.I sit at my desk and get ready for class

You know what, I think I'll turn it purple.

I muttered the same spell I had used on Klaus' eyebrows the other day and started making purple streaks in my hair. They'll be gone by the time I go to bed. Seconds after I finished, Professor Merkulova walked in, and the class made its usual scramble to get seated.

"Good morning class. We'll be using these packets for our next unit-magical sweets. I thought it'd be fun to learn the chemistry and magic behind them as the quarter ends the Friday after next. We'll be going over different kinds today, and tomorrow we'll learn the science behind them-meaning on Friday we'll make something. And we'll be making them every day but Thursday and Friday next week. Thursday will be our review day, and Friday we'll be taking the first quarter exam." He had a student start to pass out the thick packets. I panicked. Elias was right, I should be studying my but off, I've not been here much more than a week. I'm going to have to talk to my professors about this...wait. My trial is next Wednesday. Crap, what if I don't make it. Great, now I'm full-out panicking!

Someone poked my back and I jumped. I turned around and saw Yukiya looking directly in my eyes. "Don't panic. Calm down. They're not going to make you take the quarter exams unless you've been here for over half of the quarter."

I felt the panic leave as soon as it had come. My shoulders quite visibly relaxed and I slumped in relief. "Now the only thing I have to worry about is the trial…"

"It's next Wednesday, right?"

I beamed, "I didn't realize anyone cared enough to remember!"

"You do tend to make me food."

I sweatdropped, "Is that the only worth I have to you, Yukiya, free food?"

"Free _yummy_ food." His face may have been blank, but I saw the twinkle in his eyes and smiled. He's teasing me. The same way my brothers would have. I stuck my tongue out playfully.

"Your little siblings are lucky to have an awesome big brother like you, Yuki'."

I saw a bit of sadness in his eyes and he looked away. Crap. Bad topic, bad topic! "Aww...I'm sorry...how about you choose what kind of cookie I'll make tomorrow morning?" He looked back up, the grateful look in his eyes for not pressing. Oh, I will press, but not now. Later, most definitely. Perhaps over lunch today. He nodded and I turned back around with a smile. I'll invite him to have lunch after this class.

"Does everyone have a packet? Good." the professor began, "Now, the first thing to know about magic sweets is…"

…. …. ….

This was really easy. My brothers were always bringing me back magic sweets when they came home to visit. But they were normally the very weakly enchanted ones because you really do have to be careful with magic in Terra. There's far more negative possibilities in being found out than there are positive ones. It'll be fun to learn how to make them, though.

Professor Merkulova assigned us homework on researching a few different kinds of magical sweets, to be done as a little presentation next week. The only ones we weren't allowed to use were the four we were going to be making over the next week-Floating Cakes (they make you float like you're flying), Voice-Changing Custards (which make your voice sound like the reverse of it's natural tone, so if you had a really deep voice, it'd become really high pitched, and vice versa), Energy Suckers (which give you a boost of energy like a sugar high, only without the crash afterwards), and Calming Chocolates (they induce a calm feeling and help with focusing, and apparently are a common choice before exams). We had the last twenty minutes of class to brainstorm about ideas, and we'd have tomorrow to work on our ideas.

I went over to Professor Merkulova while the class chatted ideas.

"Excuse me, Professor."

He looked up from the paper he was working on, "Oh, Miss Fonix. What was it you need?"

"Well, professor, it's about the quarter exams. If I somehow manage to pass my trial next week, I'm not so sure I'd do all that well on the quarter test, having missed most of the quarter and all…"

He smiled kindly, "Ah yes, there's that little issue." He thought for a second, "How about this: instead of taking the exam, you can do a practical for magic sweets. If you can successfully create your own kind of magic sweet, and make it for the class, you'll pass."

I felt the little bit of my worry I had for this class dissipate. "Thank you, sir. I'll do my best not to disappoint." I bowed a little bit and returned to my desk, feeling relived. I was usually pretty awful at paper tests. I did much better with practical ones.

One class down, three to go. The one I was worried most about at this point was Practical Magic, as Schuyler was the most strict of the teachers…

After the bell rang, I pulled Yukiya aside.

Elias's POV

I saw Selene grab a hold of Yukiya before he left. Since I was still a bit annoyed with her for the embarrassment she caused me earlier, I decided I was allowed to eavesdrop a bit, and stayed at my desk.

"Hey Yukiya," she said, "Would you mind having lunch with me today?" Now what's this about?

"Umm...why…?" For Yukiya, that was a confused tone.

"Because I want to have lunch with someone quieter than the people who normally sit at the same table as me. Plus, you're also my friend, and so I want to each lunch with a friend. Is that okay?" Knowing Selene, there was an ulterior motive. I've noticed that she's been trying to figure out Yukiya and this is probably another attempt.

"Sure. Whatever."

"Great!" I glanced over to see Selene was beaming, "Then I'll meet you by the lake! I'll grab some lunch for both of us. Let me know if there's anything you want! Now, we probably need to hurry, otherwise we'll be late for Practical Magic, and I do _not_ need to do anything else to make him not like me!" She noticed I was still there, just getting up from my seat. "Oh! Eli! Let's gooooooo!" She grabbed Yukiya's hand and then mine before dragging us out of the room.

"I swear," I muttered, not loud enough for her to hear, "she's like a little kid…"

"Yeah." Yukiya, who for some reason had the freaky ability to almost read someone's thoughts he was so good at hearing, agreed with the slightest of smiles. I looked at the older girl pulling us along to our next class and shook my head, a small smile gracing my own lips. She really is changing people. Yukiya, Luca, Me, and even Klaus...I wonder how these new connections she's made this past week and a half would change if she didn't end up making it in.

Shut up brain! Don't jinx it!

…. …. ….

Selene's POV

I talked to Professor Schuyler about the exam, and thankfully, oh so thankfully, said I'd only be tested on certain things-mostly the things I'd been able to be here for class to study. He also said that since all accepted students with uncommon or rare talents were supposed to be tested for that talent, he'd be testing the extent of my abilities for fire magic, which would double for that test. Which meant the only thing I really had to worry about was that water spell from my first day...yikes. At least I'd probably be able to pass…

At lunch, I hurried to the cafeteria, got two bigger meals and two desserts, balancing them all on a tray with one hand, like a waitress-incidentally, I actually did fill in as a waitress at the diner (aka the club I would sing at-refer to chapter 7.5) occasionally when they were short staffed. It wasn't hard, like most things, but it was a matter of balance. I saw Isa and told her I was having lunch with a classmate today, and asked to to relay that to anyone at the table who asked.

Crap. I still haven't given Zave his answer...things have really picked up speed, and it's hard to believe it was only last Saturday he asked me out...and I'm still not entirely sure what to say to him...I think I'll tell him next time I can pull him aside...for now, I don't think I'm really ready for a relationship…

I made it to the lake, and saw Yukiya was already there, sitting under a tree, that wolf familiar of his laying next to him. I rarely see the wolf, and Yukiya mentioned that it thought the classes were boring, and the classrooms were stuffy, therefore, he rarely came to class with Yukiya.

"Hey, sorry I'm a bit late-the lines are crazy! Have you been waiting long?" He shook his head as I sat next to him. I set the tray down and handed him his half, "Here. Eat. We'll talk after that." He looked a bit sceptical, well, for Yukiya, andway, but started eating. In no time, both of us were done. I gathered up all the trash and such and put it on the tray, setting it over to the side. I turned to face him directly, staring him right in the eyes...eye. I can only see one eye, the other is hidden with an eyepatch.

"Okay Yukiya, I'm going to be frank and not beat around the bush here. You're worrying me. I've known you for a little over the week, but it's almost painfully obvious to me. You've got something big and bad going on in your life, and I want to help." He opened his mouth, but I raised a hand and silenced him before he could deny it, "Don't lie to me, Yukiya, please. As your friend-yes, I'm your friend whether you like it or not-I beg you to be honest with me. I just want you to know that I'm not going to force you to tell me about what's going on. It's your problem and it's up to you if you want to tell me. But if you do, I'll listen-and the sun knows I won't judge, seeing as I've got issues myself. But I'll gladly do anything I can to help. Okay?" I smiled at him hopefully, and his face was blank, like he was thinking. Then he sighed.

"The rumors aren't lying." He said so quietly I could barely hear him.

"Huh?"

"They're true. I'm cursed. I'm not safe. I'm dangerous."

"Lies! You are one of the sweetest people I know, Yuki'."

He wouldn't meet my eyes, like he was ashamed. "It isn't a lie. My magic's a curse. I wasn't born with magical abilities, Selene. I only have them because of a contract. And now I'm a monster."

"Making a contract doesn't make you a monster, Yukiya. Only your own choices of how you use the magic can make you one. Magic is but a tool, not inherently good or bad. The same knife that can cut bread to feed a starving man can just as well be used to strike him dead. And I doubt that you'd ever choose to misuse it." His fists were clenched, I noticed as I finished.

"You don't understand! As payment for the contract I become a mindless monster every full moon!" That was definitely the loudest I've ever heard his voice. "I had to leave my family the first time it happened so I wouldn't hurt them-or worse, kill them! And I can't ever go back because it still happens every month! I terrified my younger brother because I transformed into a monster in front of him! How can I go back, when there's the constant threat of that?" He was curled up in pain, head between his hands, "Two years, Selene, two years...I first came to the academy nearly a year ago, hoping that someone among the teachers would have to nullify this cursed contract...but they couldn't...they couldn't…" I don't think that he realized that he was clutching his eyepatch.

My eyes were wide, "Oh, Yukiya, it's okay…" I went into what Klaus calls "mother mode" and hugged Yukiya. After a while I got him to calm down after getting so worked up, but he was far more pale than ever. It was almost like he was getting sick with a flu or fever, and it worried me. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but why did you make the contract?"

I listened silently as the younger boy quietly told me a story that almost seemed like it came from a novel. He came from a small village that was near the largest forest in the country, and it was fairly isolated. While most of the men were out hunting, the town was attacked by a bunch of raiders and several of them had cornered Yukiya and his oldest younger sibling, his brother Nico, who was about three years younger than him. His mother and four sisters were hiding in another part of the house while the two tried to fend them off with an old kitchen knife. But right before one of the men nearly stabbed Nico, everything froze and Yukiya heard a voice which offered him the chance to save his brother and his family. Yukiya took it without a second thought, and transformed into a beast through some unknown magic power and killed the men within minutes. And then ran off as soon as he realized what he'd done. The mark of the contract was hidden under his eyepatch, and if it saw the full moon, he transformed into an awful, menacing beast.

I couldn't help it. I had tears falling down my cheeks. If I didn't feel emotion for something like this I wouldn't be human. I gave him another hug, "Yukiya, you're a hero. You gave up your family, your life, to save them. Those are the actions of a hero." His breathing was getting heavier and he was trembling. I pulled back and he looked like he was about to collapse, looking clammy, eyes glazed. "Yukiya!" As soon as I said that he swayed and fainted.

* * *

Aurora: Uncle Yukiya really went through all that? I had no idea…

Selene: It's not really something he likes to think about. But, he and his family have been reunited. He got his well-deserved happily-ever-after.

Authoress: He did. He couldn't be happier.

Aurora: And now I know where I get my awful testing skills from.

Selene: Ahaha...yeah, that's my fault. I've never been to good with those dry paper tests. Actually, I've fallen asleep a couple of times during my exams.

Klaus: She has. I was the substitute teacher giving one of those to her.

Selene: You can't blame me entirely! It's not _my_ fault that those rooms get so warm and drowsy, and I can't help the fact that I'm an insomniac! Besides, I did my best! I graduated with pretty good grades, remember, oh buddy of mine!

Klaus: Whatever you say, _shortie_.

Selene: Come Aurora. I think we need to give _His Rudeness_ some space.

Aurora (to Authoress): I know where those nicknames come from now, too.

Authoress (to Aurora): Yup. Honestly, who needs a significant other when you can't just watch these two banter?

Aurora and Authoress: Not me, that's for sure. (they high five)


	43. Chapter 35

First post of my summer vacation! I'm actually really excited. I'm planning on posting three one-shots to my collection in the next day or so, and I've gotten up to chapter 59 of this finished-only, I have to finish my spin-off story for Elias (and my OC Katalina) and get to a certain point in the story of the girl I'll pair with Yukiya eventually, Philyra. Until then, Elemental won't progress past chapter 59. But, I should be long done with those two other stories by the time I actually need to start posting them. They'll take place simultaneously with certain points of Elemental, and so I have to post them at the same time or in between certain chapters of this story. It's a little complicated, but they'll be posted eventually, with notes of what chapters in Elemental they correspond to, so, yay!

Oh, and this is just a side note that'll end up most likely being too long, but has anyone else started Leon's route? I'm at the very beginning of chapter three. It's been really interesting thus far, and I think I'm going to be able to work him into Elemental. I mean, I've already figured out how I'm going to work in Joel and Vincent, so why not? I'll have to finish the route before I make a final decision, but I'm pretty sure I'll put Leon in. Mostly because I want to write how I imagine him interacting with Selene. She's good at answering random questions like ones Leon asks (mostly the "why" and "what" questions children seem to always ask to annoy adults). It's going to be fun. And, this is sort of related, but kind of not, but do any of you think that Leon is the unicorn in human form? I'm pretty convinced he is, at this point. I mean, why else would they start every chapter with a bit of the unicorn storybook thing? Let me know what you guys think. ;)

Anyway, enjoy this chapter for now. The headmaster makes a suggestion to Selene that might just allow her to use a "new" kind of magic that she was unable to touch previously.

* * *

Chapter 35

"Yukiya!" As soon as I said that he swayed and fainted. I caught him before he hit the ground. He was sick, very sick.

Wait. Wasn't tonight the full moon?

Crap! That doesn't matter! He needs help!

I put one of his arms around his shoulder and stood up, supporting his weight. I can come back and get out bags later. I made my way to the school as quickly as I could with the unconscious Yukiya. I didn't give a flip that I was going to be really late to History of Magic.

I don't even know where the nurse's office is, or if there even is one!

I spotted a flash of green hair turning a corner. Luca must've skipped class. "Luca!" I cried. He turned to us with a grin that quickly disappeared when he noticed Yukiya. He came over and supported Yukiya's other side, making the poor boy weigh a lot less on my shoulders.

"Selene, what they heck happened to him?" Luca asked, looking confused and surprised, "Come on, the infirmary is this way." He began to lead the way.

"We were having lunch by the lake because I needed to talk to him about something, and he suddenly collapsed!" We made it to a room with a few beds that had curtains that could be pulled around them, and some chairs and cabinets.

Setting Yukiya on the bed next to the window on the other side of the room, I began rifling through the cabinets trying to find fever medicine, because his temperature seemed to be a little higher than mine-that is to say, a little above 100 degrees fahrenheit (or, for those readers who aren't from the U.S., approximately 38 degrees celsius).

All I found were herbs and tinctures. "Crap. Forgot Myula doesn't have the kinds of medicines Terra does!"

"What are you looking for?" Luca asked. Oh yeah. He was still here.

"Something to lower his fever." I shut the little door in frustration. Then I had an idea and bonked myself in the head, "Wait a minute. I'm a master of fire-meaning heat!" I hurried over to Yukiya and pulled out my wand. I took a breath and placed it over his heart, just barely pressing into him. I magical began pulling the excess heat from him, and a minute or so later his fever disappeared, at least temporarily. I hoped it wouldn't come back, but I had a feeling it would, especially if it was connected to what he had just told me. I put a hand to Luca's forehead (confusing him) before moving it to Yukiya's, comparing the temperatures, "There. Fever's gone. I think he's just sleeping now." I breathed a sigh of relief, "That scared me."

"You didn't panic all that much, ya'know. Besides, how'd you do that?" Luca gave me an interested look.

"I'm magical. You should know this by now, Lukey." I had an idea. "Maybe that's what I'll call you from now on. Lukey. Rhymes with pukey-like the color of your hair, ya'know?" I mimicked his customary "ya'know?" and he laughed.

"Careful little vixen." he teased, "The hunter might just decide to go hunting."

I snorted, "You're too lazy."

"True." he agreed, "Well, I'm off. Have fun, little vixen."

"See ya later, _Pukey_." I playfully stuck my tongue out at him and he chuckled as he left the room. I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling. To be honest, Luca reminded me a lot of one of my older brothers, Matthew (#3). Both of them tended to be very teasing and witty with their remarks.

I turned back to Yukiya, who was still sleeping. I scribbled a note so he'd know I didn't just abandon him here and would come check on him after classes before I pulled a blanket over him. I carefully slid the curtains around the bed so people would know there's someone there if they came in and would hopefully make an effort not to be too loud. I shut the door quietly behind me when I left. I sprinted to the lake and grabbed our stuff before going as fast as I could to History of Magic. I'm hoping the headmaster won't be _too_ mad. I think I've got a pretty good excuse for being late, though…

I knocked on the door and was surprised to find, not the headmaster, but Klaus himself opening the door. "Ah, so you decided to grace us with your presence, Miss Fonix?" He gave me a scolding look as he let me into the classroom. His remark made most of the class laugh.

Klaus' POV

I probably shouldn't have said that, but I couldn't help it. I was a little irritated. She's nearly twenty or so minutes late to class, and I was actually worried something had happened to her. Even Elias, no matter how sly he tried to be, kept casting worried glances at the door-neither Selene nor his roommate, Yukiya, were here. Then Selene appears, looking a little windswept, and, I notice, with purple streaks in her blonde hair (I'm guessing it's the same temporary spell she used on me), at the door.

She bows a little before she responds, "I am ever so sorry, Prefect Goldstein. I was having lunch with a friend at the lake and he"-it's a he? I swear if it's Moonwalker I might just strangle him.-"collapsed. I had to take Yukiya to the infirmary, and thus I am late. I hope that you can find the room in your ever-so-kind heart to forgive me of my tardiness!"

Oh, so it was the other missing student she was with. A monster called jealousy, curled in the pit of my stomach, though, still shifted at the fact that she was having lunch _alone_ with another man-any other man. But, knowing her, there was probably a good reason. Calm down, Klaus. Don't be an idiot.

And the way she phrased that response was obviously making fun of me, most likely because of the remark I made upon letting her in the room. "We shall see about that. You may go sit down, Miss Fonix." She nodded and went to go sat. I noticed she was carrying two bags-her own strange Terran one, on her back, and another one around her shoulders. She put that one on the empty desk behind her, where the Reizen boy usually sat, and pulled a book out of her own bag, setting it on the desk, before putting it down next to her desk. She turned her attention to the front and I realized I should be continuing with the lesson, "As I was saying before we were interrupted…" I went on, explaining the origins of the first spellsingers. After a while, I decided it was time for a question, "Now, what magical creature are Spellsingers said to be descended from in some shape or form?" I noticed Selene's eyes were a little glazed and decided to pick on her. "How about you tell us the answer, Miss Fonix?"

"Oh!" She snapped back to attention, "Uh...I believe that it's Sirens. Yes. I'm sure it is. Sirens are said to be the ancestors of Spellsingers because of their strong magical abilities with using their magic through the means of their voices. Typically they're thought of as a type of Merrow, but they can actually be any type of fae-land, water, air, whatever. What classifies them as a Siren is the useage of their voices to work magic."

"Good answer." I made sure I gave Elias a look that only he'd be able to read, because he sees something like it all the time from me; a look that clearly says "that's-what-I'm-talking-about-when-I-say-use-your-own-words-and-not-the-textbook's." "Now, moving on…"

…. …. ….

Selene's POV

Thank goodness I'd read that book, _Unique Magicks of Old and Forgotten Times_. I'm not really paying the best attention right now-Yukiya's story is swirling in my mind. I won't tell anyone about it, oh no, as it's not my secret to share, but I really want to help him. He _needs_ help. He hates himself and his magic, when he's really a hero. Perhaps that's the core of the problems-he hates it, so it won't work properly. Maybe if he learned to like it-or, really, even just to tolerate it-he'd be able to exercise better control over it if he transforms. Do I know anyone who's really good with magical contracts? I know a few people who use them, but not to a great extent. Man, as many connections as I have and I don't known anyone good with magical contracts besides basic users with temporary contracts. That's sad.

Man, ever since that letter showed up the day before I came, my life has been getting more complicated by the day. More and more things keep adding to the list of stuff I need to figure out. A buddy on my first day. Elementals. Contracts. That job my brothers' father left me in a dream I'm only pretty sure was real. Zave's still-unanswered question. An upcoming trial to deal with. Not mentioning the make-up work I have to do in lieu of the quarter exams. I know this is a selfish question, but is it a little too late to go back to my simple life on Terra as a some-what normal girl?

Yep. It is. But I don't think I'd want to at this point. And It's not like I can, anyway. Oh well. It's not so bad-like my mother told me, I'll figure it all out eventually.

Right?

Cadeyrn's POV

I'm not sure why, but I've had the strangest premonition to make another special wand. I finished Faelan's ring last night, and perhaps I can get started on this before his kinsman arrives. If there's one thing I've learned the hard way, it's to trust my instinct. This wand will be different than the last wand I created. I do not make wands very often, as they are a wizard's tool, and most creatures prefer different tools. I have made only three wands in my life-the one I used myself many years ago, when I fell in love with a wizardess, one I created for an old friend by the name of Merlin, who I see every once in awhile as he travels. I should consider myself lucky that he thought I was talented enough to replace his first wand, a wand that has since become legend, though the fact that it was snapped and burned into nonexistence is little known. The last one, the most recent one, was more difficult than the other two, because it wasn't nearly so simple. Made of only the purest of three phoenixian metals, gold, silver, and bronze. The bronze was sealed in the very core, representing a total seal that had only two ways to ever be broken. The gold surrounded the bronze, but was in turn encased in the silver, only thin, shifting veins of gold able to be seen-representing a partial seal that could be broken, albeit not easily. The part of gold was far less dangerous than the one of bronze, after all. The gold could be agreeable and willing to live in harmony-but the bronze was a self-defending creature that would stop at nothing to destroy anything it perceived to be a threat. The gold and silver together would be able to contain it, unless they both were weakened greatly. And hopefully, that day will never come.

But if I am to make another wand, but foregoing the sealing spells for the time being, would be smart. Having backup is always smart. But it must be different than the last one, or the seal won't have any effect. No seal ever has a double-it makes them weak-so all are different.

It's always good to have a backup just in case. And with something so vital, it is far more important.

…. …. ….

Selene's POV

After I went to Mr. G's class (I asked him about the exam and he said that the amulet would count as my exam grade, and I could do my presentation on Monday, seeing as we wouldn't get through everyone's demonstrations tomorrow anyway. That made me really happy because all my amulet needed was a few adjustments-plus, I was planning on running it by Klaus to see if he can find any improvements I could make.) I went as fast as I could to the infirmary, but Yukiya was no longer there. The headmaster was.

He was sitting in a chair. When I came in, he stood up and held out my note. "Ah, Miss Fonix. I've been waiting for you. Mr. Reizen has been moved to another place while he recovers."

"Where? Does it have anything to do with the contract?" Since Yukiya said he came to the academy to see if someone could break it, I assume the headmaster knew about it.

It seems he did-and he seemed mildly surprised I knew. "Did he tell you about that?"

"I may have weaseled it out of him…" I said sheepishly, "But only because I was worried about my friend, though!"

The headmaster smiled, "He must trust you greatly if he told you all this. I must thank you for helping out a fellow student, especially one who is usually so isolated."

I flushed a bit with embarrassment, "It was more motherly instinct than anything...plus, he's a nice kid. Those rumors are ruthless and unfair and wrong."

"I'm glad you think so. Since you're so concerned about your friend, I'll assure you that he's in a safe place. This is standard on the day of the full moon for him. He'll be back to normal by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

I breathed a sigh of relief, "Did his fever return? Sometimes that spell breaks it, other times it lessens the symptoms for a while then it returns."

"I saw the residue of that spell. I've never seen anything of the like. What was the incantation?"

"Umm...there wasn't one." When there was a silence, I decided to elaborate, "I really just...sucked out the excess heat, in a way."

"I seem to remember Professor Schuyler mentioning you have an unusual affinity for the element of fire and it's branch magics." Curiosity shone in his eyes. Is it really that strange…? I'm special, but I don't think I'm all _that_ special...

"It's really the only magic I'm good at. But I'm fairly dismal at most kinds of magic, especially water and ice. I can't even use the simplest spells of those types."

He nodded thoughtfully, "Well, I'm afraid we must both be going-I've work to do, and I don't doubt that buddy of yours will get irritated if you're late."

I shrugged, "To be honest, irritating him can be quite amusing. He gets so frustrated to the point where it's funny...but I probably shouldn't chance it because of…ah, a certain recent event..." I trailed off, biting my lip, not sure if I should tell him of just _how_ I annoy Klaus...stories of purple eyebrows and such…

He laughed, "Ah, to be young again." He headed towards the door, but paused for a moment before leaving. "Oh, and Miss Fonix, I'm sure you'll figure out how to use something similar to ice magic if you take a more unorthodox path. Good day." And with that confusing message, he left. Similar to ice magic? How would that work?

…. …. ….

After narrowly escaping a thorough scolding from Klaus by quickly explaining that I was conversing with the headmaster (finally, someone who has actual influence to sway Klaus and keep him from scolding my ears off!), I told him what my day was like, explaining what my exams would be like (besides History of Magic-I'm going to have to ask Headmaster Randolf about that tomorrow, because I neglected to ask him in the infirmary yesterday) if I pass my trial next Wednesday and such. He shrugged and said that doesn't mean I shouldn't be studying and practicing my butt off (though it wasn't so "vulgarly" phrased). I responded by sticking out my tongue and calling him a slave driver in English. Yup, I'm the most mature person you'll ever meet. The most mature five-year-old, I mean.

Then I told him what the headmaster told me before he left, "He said I might be able to use something similar to ice magic if I did it in an unorthodox way. Any clue as to what he might mean?"

Klaus thought, then spoke, "Perhaps."

* * *

Authoress: And you'll have to wait until next time, my lovely readers, to find out more.

Leon: Why will they have to wait?

Authoress: Oh, hi Leon. They have to wait because I only post every two weeks.

Leon: Why?

Authoress: Because it allows me to pace the chapters so they don't have to wait for months for another chapter, that's why.

Leon: Why?

Authoress (sighing): Because I said so. Now, what are you doing here? I thought you were out with Selene. She said she needed your help for something.

Leon: …

Authoress: Are you two done then?

Leon: …

Authoress: I'm going to assume you're done.

Leon: Why?

Authoress: Let's just go find Selene. I've got one-shots to work on.

Leon: Why?

Authoress: Because I do. Let's go.

Leon: …


	44. Start of Summer Special

Okay, this was originally something I typed up several months ago and was _going_ to post it next month as a year anniversary special, but I typed up something better for that purpose and just decided to post it. Oh, and the next chapter posted won't really be a chapter, but another family guide to go along with this little short shot here. It's everyone's future families (as well as what all my OCs look like). This short story here takes place before the prologue does by about three years. You might recognize some of the names.

* * *

The group of Wizardess Heart couples (Myula/Terran AU or whatever it is) are having a big get together! That means 7 wives/mothers, 7 husbands/fathers and a grand total of 21 children ages 1 to 14. They're at the main Goldstein Estate (Courtesy of Percival, the eldest Goldstein brother) due to the fact that it's really the only place big enough to fit everyone comfortably…

The fathers and all the mothers except Selene are sitting at a large round table outside while Selene is playing games (Mostly Terran, think with the children-except Temperance, Leon, Rosa, and Yukiya Jr (the first three are coloring at a small table, and the last one is sleeping in his mother's lap). Everyone chats cordially and is enjoying themselves. Only, Philyra notices something's off.

* * *

"Klaus." Philyra gazes at him curiously.

"Uh, yes?" He responds, taken a bit a back. Philyra's been all but silent, happy to listen to everyone.

"Why is it every time you and Selene meet eyes, she looks away with a huff?"

"I noticed that to." Elaine and Katalina say at the same time. They look at each other and giggle.

"Yeah, why is that?" Serge, who was across the table from Klaus, leaned in, grinning.

"She's sulking." He stated, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

"Sulking? Why'd she be sulking? What'd you do?" Zelia says accusingly.

"It's nothing more than Selene being Selene. She does this occasionally."

"Lies!" Selene had suddenly appeared behind him, and he jumps. He turns and glares at her, warning her to stop. "He won't let me ha…" He covers her mouth, effectively muffling what she was going to say. She squirms, trying to break free. It was in vain.

"Daddy won't let Rosa have a little brotder or sishter!" Rosa piped up from the table.

"Huh?" They all say, and Rosa repeats herself and promptly goes back to coloring.

Aurora, who had overheard all of this, walks over and translates, "What she means is Father won't let momma have another baby." A round of "oh"s goes around the table, and Klaus glares at his now-smug wife.

"You put them up to that, didn't you?" He wipes his hand on his pants—she'd licked it to get it off of her mouth, something that she'd always done to get on his nerves when he was covering her mouth. It happened far too often it seems...

"Maybe, maybe not." Then she turns away from him, chin in the air, eyes closed, arms folded. "I'm still not talking to that person. Not until he gives in."

Everyone is laughing at these two.

"Woman, we have enough children already!" Klaus argues. "Is _nine_ not enough?!"

"No." she hmphs stubbornly. "I want another!"

"You already act like a child, does that not count?" He sighs.

"No!"

As they continue to bicker, the children start gathering, summoned by the laughter at the adults table. A few of the older ones, mostly Selene's older ones, figure out what Selene and Klaus are arguing about and start up a chant: "Baby! Baby! BABY! BABY!...," which the other kids join in on, making the other adults laugh even harder. At this point, Klaus' face is red from frustration and embarrassment as Selene refuses to give in and "act [her] age!"

Eventually, Klaus roars for everyone to shut it. An uneasy silence prevails, and everyone looks at him, some curiously, some a little scared, but Selene still refuses to look at him. He then, to everyone's surprise, hoists her over his shoulder, making her yelp in surprise, and stomps off. Selene shrugs, props her elbows up on his back, and waves to everyone.

"ELIAS! You're in charge of my munchkins!" she shouts.

The adults all look at each other. "When will Klaus learn that Selene _always_ gets her way in the end?" Marelda snickers. Everyone laughs in agreement.


	45. Future Families Guide

OCs:

(Elias x) **Katalina Sommer** =pure-animal tamer (age 15)

Magic Specialty: animal magic

Character Description: milk-chocolate brown eyes-medium brown hair-mildly tanned colored skin-a little thinner than she should be, but then again she's had to provide for herself.

(Yukiya x) **Philyra Fonix** =lover of music (no surname-takes on Selene's when Selene pretty much adopts her) (age 14)

Magic Specialty: spellsinging, hiding magic (mainly because it can be hard for most people to notice her most of the time anyway)

Character Description: left eye is sea green with bright blue flecks, right eye is a stormy grey-mousy brown hair that tends to cover her eyes-pale skin-smaller than Yukiya by a head-too thin from malnutrition.

(Luca x) **Marelda Kramer** =renowned warrior-shopkeeper (age 16)

Magic Specialty: binding magic to weapons, strength/speed/other fighting spells

Character Description: dark violet eyes (not like the Goldsteins eyes, which are lighter violet)-fiery red hair-tanned skin (from training outside so much)-same exact height as Luca-toned body ((okay, I'll easily admit that she's a lot like a Tamora Pierce's (my absolute favorite author of all time and my hero) main character, Alanna, from her Song of the Lioness Quartet (except for Alanna is really short unlike Marelda), but then again Luca is a lot like Alanna's eventual husband, George, in some ways))

(Serge x) **Zelia March** =sunshine-boundary (age 17)

Magic Specialty: time, space (like transporting and such), divining the future/past

Character Description: Dark blue eyes (that always have a glimmer of either curiosity or mischief)-hair that is the same color as her eyes (I mean, Serge has cotton candy pink hair, so why not? Only Zelia's is dyed)-semi-tanned skin-a few inches shorter than Serge (so she's taller than Selene)-is extremely hyper and cooks a lot so she can eat more (like Selene, she eats waaaaay more than normal, but it's expectable because of how hyper she gets, like Serge)

* * *

Future Families:...

Elaine (23-37)/Percival (24-38): (1)

 **Evelynne** (14)

Description: Blue Eyes, Pale Blonde Hair, Very Fair Skin

Personality: A mild, sweet tempered young lady. She's quite similar to her mother.

Magical Specialty: Mild healing talent, not very much though, so she tends to not really use her magic.

* * *

Marelda (15-30)/Luca (17-32): (1 5/6)

 **Laurel** (7)

Description: Emerald Green Eyes, Fiery Red Hair, Tanned Skin

Personality: Much like her mother, she's kind of surly. She'd rather learn to fight than be a lady, though she does like painting and drawing, the one thing she most obviously shares with her father besides hair colour.

Magical Specialty: Unorthodox Fighting Magic

 **Brielle**

Note: She's Not Born Yet, due in a little over a month.

* * *

Katalina (15-29)/Elias (15-29): (2 1/2)

 **Willow** (8)

Description: Amethyst Purple Eyes, Chocolate Brown Hair

Personality: She's a lot like her father—blunt, tactless, but her comments tend to be correct. She loves reading and is a good student—also is a big fan of animals, though she can't speak to them.

Magical Specialty: Diagnostic magic—can tell what's wrong with a person, animal, or other, no matter what. She'll know how to fix it even if she's unable to perform the magic or such to do so.

 **Leon** (4)

Description: Chocolate Brown Eyes, Blond Hair

Personality: He's like his mother, and a really sweet little kid. He's not all that talkative though, at least with humans. He likes talking to animals.

Magical Specialty: Animal/Tamer magics

 **Nyra/Ezra**

Note: Not Born Yet, not due for about six months.

* * *

Zelia (16-31)/Serge (20-34): (3)

 **Randy** (11) (Kai's identical twin and Lilith's fraternal triplet—oldest)

Description: Bright Blue Eyes, Brown Hair with a Pinkish/Blueish Undertones

Personality: Very thoughtful, loves reading novels, nice kid, enjoys trying to figure out paradoxes (for some reason no one knows…). He likes to laugh and smile.

Magical Specialty: Very good with summoning magics

 **Kai** (11) (Randy's identical twin and Lilith's fraternal triplet—second oldest)

Description: Bright Blue Eyes, Brown Hair with a Pinkish/Blueish Undertones

Personality: Kai is the most hyperactive child you'll ever meet. I swear, he has more energy than Serge, Selene, and Zelia _combined_ _times 5_. He loves experimenting with his father.

Magical Specialty: Not entirely sure…tends to make things explode most of the time because he always puts too much energy into things…

 **Lillith** (11) (Randy and Kai's fraternal triplet-youngest)

Description: Pinkish eyes, Blue Hair

Personality: The complete flipside of her brother. Calmest, most level-headed kid you'll ever meet. Thinks everything through and plans things out. She's really the only one that can handle completely her brother (Kai).

Magical Specialty: Time magics

(Note: Randy and Kai are identical twins, while Lilith is their fraternal triplet)

* * *

Philyra (15-28)/Yukiya (15-29): (5) (This family is pretty quiet to be honest…)

 **Selene** (8) (Celeste's twin sister)

Description: Stormy Grey Eyes, Dark Blonde Hair (no one knows how that happened…)

Personality: Very quiet and thoughtful, withdrawn a bit.

Magical Specialty: Spellsinging

 **Celeste** (8) (Selene's twin sister)

Description: Right Eye is Sea Green with Bright Blue Flecks, Left Eye is a Stormy Grey, Raven's Wing Black Hair

Personality: A loud, happy child

Magical Specialty: Can talk to animals

 **Melody** (7)

Description: Pretty Sea-Green Eyes, Raven's Wing Black Hair

Personality: Very quiet and thoughtful, withdrawn a bit.

Magical Specialty: Spellsinging

 **Temperance** (4)

Description: Brown Eyes, Pretty Pale Brown Hair

Personality: Very quiet and thoughtful, withdrawn a bit.

Magical Specialty: Hiding/Camouflage magics

 **Yukiya Jr**. (1)

Description: Looks just like his father…Brown Eyes, Raven's Wing Black Hair

Personality: Super spoiled (in a good way) because all of his sister's dote on him. Cutest smile ever, though!

Magical Specialty: Unknown—a bit too young

* * *

Selene (17-32)/Klaus (20-34): (9)

 **Aurora** (12)

Description: Eyes are Brown with Gold Flecks, Imperial Blonde

Personality: Imagine Selene's positive attitude and silver tongue combined with Klaus' smarts and magical abilities (as well as Selene's abilities with wind and song, but better).

Magical Specialty: Wind magics, Arias

 **Klaus Jr.** (aka Kay) (11)

Description: Silvery Eyes, Imperial Blond

Personality: He's very much like his mother...

Magical Specialty: Technology magics.

 **Seraphina** (10)

Description: Eyes shift colors like fire, Imperial Blonde

Personality: She's very motherly, takes care of her younger (and older…) siblings like a little mother.

Magical Specialty: No magical abilities. Loves teaching and kids though. Good with abstract magical theories.

 **Raye** (9)

Description: Violet Eyes, Imperial Blonde

Personality: She sure takes after her father...

Magical Specialty: Medical Magics

 **Johnathan** (8) (Elias' Twin)

Description: Silvery Eyes, Imperial Blond

Personality: Happy child, likes to follow his younger twin brother around. Quiter.

Magical Specialty: Good with all around magics.

 **Elias** (8) (Johnathan's Twin)

Description: Violet Eyes, Imperial Blond

Personality: Very outdoorsy, likes nature.

Magical Specialty: Interested in magical creatures, average magical abilities

 **Jayce** (6)

Description: Brown Eyes, Imperial Blond

Personality: Enjoys swimming, pretty go-with-the-flow

Magical Specialty: Water magics (Ironically. No one knows how this happened…)

 **Zeeke** (5)

Description: Golden Eyes, Imperial Blond

Personality: Zeeke has some minor anger issues, but they aren't sure whether it's because he's little still, or what. He's a bit temperamental.

Magical Specialty: Making things go boom. Magical power hasn't stabilized yet.

 **Rosa** (3)

Description: Left Eye is Light Violet, Right Eye is Dark Violet, Imperial Blonde

Personality: She's a big ball of hyper fun.

Magical Specialty: Magical abilities unknown.


	46. Chapter 36

Hey everyone! I'm back again! Happy 4th of July to all my American readers!

Honestly, though, I haven't worked on Elemental in a little over a week...oops. I've been kind of wrapped up in an idea I had for a story. It's actually not a fan fiction. It's going fairly well, and I've got a basic idea of a plot, and a lot of details for the characters figured out. It's been fun. I'll eventually get back to Elementals and related spin offs, though. Can't leave y'all hangin', after all.

Ah, more banter from Klaus and Selene. Enjoy. ;)

* * *

Chapter 36

Klaus' POV

"Perhaps." I said. Something _similar_ to ice magic, huh? If she can't use ice, but can use it's opposite, she might be able to use ice through the reverse of fire, or more accurately, heat. That's an interesting theory, and I'm not surprised that the headmaster figured that out. Maybe I should have her try it.

"Perhaps can mean many things. You do or you don't." She was sitting on the other side of my desk, chin perched upon one of her palms, head tilted and looking at me, wide-eyed and expectant.

I smirk, "I think I'll leave it to you to figure it out."

"Klaaaaaaaus!" she whined, "But why should I when you already know the annnnnswerrrrrr!"

"To make you suffer." I looked back at the paper I was working on, knowing all too well that she was pouting. I withheld my smile, probably not too successfully.

Until her head popped into view. I jumped back in surprise, a blush rising over the bridge of my nose and tops of my cheeks. She had leaned backwards on my desk, her head plopped on top of my hands. She'd been mere inches from my face, hence the blush. Wait, what?

"Ha!" she cried, sitting up, "You're only teasing me, aren't you? Meanie bobeanie! What's the real reason? You don't really know, do you?!"

I took a breath and reeled in the rush of emotions in my chest before answering, "What's the use of knowing the answer if you didn't discover it yourself?"

Selene's POV

I scared him I scared him! Hehehehe… I don't know why but I feel really proud of having surprise him like that. I didn't expect him to jerk back so panickedly. Or to blush like that. It was kind of cute, to be honest.

"What's the use of knowing the answer if you didn't discover it yourself?" He deadpanned, regaining his composure. But I made him lose it, if only for an instance! Ha!

"Because, once I know the answer I can reverse engineer it and figure out the process to get the answer." I replied smartly. "It's how I learn math."

"Nice excuse."

"Why thank you, kind sir." I gave him a cheesy grin, then stuck my tongue out at him playfully. "Now, if you'd tell me what the translation of the headmaster's words, everything'd be _juuust_ peachy."

"No." he repeated, but now I could tell he was just teasing me again.

"You may have control of your facial emotions, Klausy dear, but not even you can control the look in your eyes." I wagged my finger in his face, and I think what I called him both confused him and annoyed him, "Now quit teasing me or...or…" I thought a moment, "Or I'll singe your eyebrows off this time. Those'll take a lot longer to grow back than fade color."

He rolled his eyes, "Think about it. You're sufficiently smart. I'm positive you'll find the answer."

"But I'm too laaaaazy…"

"Then you don't really want to know, it seems."

"But I do! Only a lot's happened lately and my brain is fried!" I gave him the super-pouty-wide-eyed-puppy look that will usually work with most of my brothers.

I could see his inner struggle in his eyes-the only part of his face that could always be read. Yes! My special begging look is working! I turned up the power and make a little tear jump to the corner of one eye. I have perfected that look, trust me. It has taken many years and a lot of talent.

"No."

In complete shock, I lost hold on my face and my jaw dropped, "B-b-but…" I pulled up a teary face this time, but he shook his head.

"No means no."

"Unless it means yes." I tried, hopeful.

"No. It's doesn't work like that."

"That's debatable."

"No. It's not."

"Are you able to say anything besides that word?"

"Nope."

Klaus' POV

"Oh come _ooooooooo_ n!" she groaned. Messing with her like this was to much fun. I swear, a part of me feels that I'm being mean, but the rest of me is enjoying her reactions. She's very open with them. I doubt she'd ever be able to gamble without giving her hand away. Then again, she might just surprise me.

"Aww...is Swene getting fwussy?" I mimicked her baby talk from earlier.

She swatted my arm, not hard enough to hurt, but in a way that made an unnecessary amount of noise, "Looks like Klausy needs a time-out! Jerk." But she's laughing, "Man, I never thought I'd ever hear such a tone come from your lips!" Hers are stretched in a grin, one that suddenly turns conspiratorial. "You know, you're not the only smart person I know in this school. I could just go ask Isa or Alex or Zave…" At the mention of that boy something inside me starts to burn with fierce jealousy, a fiery monster in the pit of my stomach.

I don't want her going to _him_ for help. I sighed and rolled my eyesx, feigning boredom to hide the traitorous jealousy. "You're able to use fire magic in a unique way. To use it, you're releasing heat and other factors involved. Ice, however, you cannot use because it won't work if you're releasing heat. Now, what would happen if you take in or remove heat from something?"

I see a light turn on in her head, "So I just have to make my magic produce an endothermic property instead of exothermic!"

Selene's POV

"Exactly." he said.

I think, "I think I've already done something like that, though not to the point of freezing something…"

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"Well, earlier, Yukiya had a really bad fever, and there's different medicines in this country than in Terra, and I couldn't find the right herbs. So, I used magic to draw the heat from his body into my own-I don't get fevers, see, and the heat didn't change anything upon entering me. But it dramatically reduced his fever."

He looked thoughtful, "Interesting concept for an interesting problem. This is a new type of thinking, I'll admit. It most likely won't be that effective with most people, but it might work perfectly in your case. Of course, I've never met anyone whose magical abilities mirror yours."

"I'm a special child." I gave him a closed-eyed grin, and I knew he was rolling his eyes.

"Sadly, I can't argue with that."

"It's not sad!" I defended, "It's the most awesome thing in zee world!"

" _Reeeally_?"

"Yup!"

"Are your chores done? We need to get to practice soon, and if they aren't done…" He gave me a look that sent me scurrying to do "my" chores.

…. …. ….

I sank gratefully into a chair in the dining room back at the girls dorm, setting a loaded tray on the table in front of me. I was exhausted. Klaus had decided to increase the rate at which we trained, claiming that I was getting too used to the slower pace at which we had been going. Therefore, it needed to be increased. He's a jerk. A jerk who, _far_ too often, is right. Now _that_ deserves a "sadly." I begin to shovel food into my mouth like a starving animal, not caring for manners at this point.

" _Your sisters would be scolding you to high heaven for eating like that_." said a teasing voice. I paused in my consumption of food, looking up. I chewed a few times before swallowing.

"Zave! _What're you doing here?_ " I began putting food in my mouth again, though not so rapidly as before, as to be able to talk between bites.

" _Well, I was with Isa and Alex, but then they started feeding each other and it got weird. I was getting up to leave when I spotted you sit down._ " He slid into the chair across from me, propping his chin on his hand, " _So how's your afternoon been?_ " he glanced at my plate, " _I'm guessing it was straining from larger-than-normal pile on the plate._ "

I swallowed and took a gulp of water, " _Klaus decided to increase the training regiment workload-he gives me more homework than the teachers do!_ "

" _You have my sympathy. He sounds like a slave driver_."

" _Pretty much. I can't really complain about the results, though. My magic's dramatically increased in many area's since this training began. With the exception of ice and water magic, but I think we've discovered a way to fix the ice magic problem_." I shoved a heaping spoonful of some sort of thick, savory stew into my mouth. Yum.

" _Really? How?_ "

" _Well, it was actually due to something the headmaster said._ " I explained the concept of using something like ice magic by reversing fire magic.

" _That's incredible!_ " He was genuinely happy that I was able to solve one of my magical problems in a way. " _You sure are special._ " He gave me a cheeky grin.

" _Tell Klaus that._ " I sniffed, " _I said the same thing and he said 'Sadly, I can't argue with that.' The sarcastic poopface._ " He snickered at that, or it might of been at my childish choice of words. I gave him a look, daring him to challenge me. He waved his hand to show he showed no harm. I stuck out my tongue at him and he laughed. " _So, how's your day gone?_ " Turning the conversation to him meant that I'd be able to quickly finish my food.

" _Nothing particularly interesting. I'm pretty sure my time spent conversing with you are the highlights._ " Oh crap...he was flirting...I probably should tell him I don't really want to date soon so he doesn't get the wrong idea…

" _Seriously? Something cool must have happened!_ " I prodded.

He laughed and launched into a story about him and Alex, his partner today in class. They had finished early, and so Alex, being Alex, decided he was hungry and decided to summon some food, as they'd been using summoning spells today. Alex meant to summon one muffin (you know which kind reader, and if you don't, you haven't been paying attention to Alex's obsession, which has been mentioned so many times by now…). He summoned about thirty. He had put too much energy into the spell in his excitement and summoned too many. But, instead of getting him in trouble, the teacher had thought it was funny and had him share with the class.

" _Alex has issues! He really needs help with that ridiculous banana nut muffin obsession!_ " I giggled, putting down my fork. Zave glanced at my plate as he did so and his eyes widened.

" _Dang girl! I've sworn it before and I'll swear it once more-you have to be hollow-boned or something! There's no way you could have eaten that much otherwise!_ "

" _Don't underestimate how much I'll eat and you won't be surprised!_ " I snickered, " _But I'm done. I'm at that point where I know that if I eat any more I'll regret it...I'm not Luffy and made of rubber and a literal bottomless pit…_ "

" _Who?_ "

" _Anime character._ "

" _Ah_."

* * *

Authoress: Okay, so one of the familiars I'm working on for this character in the story (meaning the new original one I mentioned in the A/N) is going to be like the cutest thing ever.

Selene: Oo! What is it?

Authoress: He's this albino rabbit-type familiar. He's got to forms: rabbit, and rabbit-humanoid. In humanoid form, he's about four feet tall. He's got shoulder-length hair and long, floppy bunny ears. He's super shy and very nervous, but he's completely adorable. Even more adorable than a flustered Elias.

Selene: Woah. That's adorable, all right.

Authoress: Totally. He hides behind his master-the character he's contracted too-when strangers are around, and he's got this strange love or organizing things. And, he _loves_ carrot cake. Like, to the point of extremity. Only, his master rarely lets him have it because the cream cheese frosting isn't too healthy. And, he loves to cuddle. He's not a battle-type familiar. He falls into the category of companion-type. He's just the sweetest thing ever.

Selene: Aww! What's his name?

Authoress: Wycliff. I might change it, but I probably won't.

Selene: Ugh, so cute! You should bring him into the ender. I wanna meet him.

Authoress: I don't mean to be rude, Selene, but when it comes to cute things...you tend to come off a _little_ strong. You'd probably terrify him half to death.

Selene (*pouting*): Aw…

Authoress: Seriously, though, if you want to cuddle, I'm pretty sure Klaus is taking a nap down the hall.

Selene: Yay! I'm going to go jump on him!

Authoress: Have fun with that. But it's not my fault when he throws you out the window or something.


	47. Chapter 37

Okay, super short note this time. I hope y'all enjoy the chapter! I'll be posting a special chapter on the 29th as a year anniversary special!

Chapter 37

Zave and I continued talking as he walked me up to the tray return. This easy, and platonic friendship was becoming a great thing. Only he kept flirting because I haven't actually turned him down yet. I really needed to talk to him, and this might be the best chance I'll get to pull him aside for a while, and if I didn't end up passing my trial...that'd be awkward later. So I need to handle this now. I don't want to lead him on, because he's become a good friend. I'm just not ready for something like that. So I steeled myself and asked him if he'd come outside with me, because I needed to talk to him without others being able to overhear. He shrugged and agreed with a smile. Always agreeable, that was Zave.

"So, what was it you needed?" he asked, tilting his head, smiling his ever-present smile.

I kicked nervously at the ground, and steeled myself to say it. More like blurted it out. "Zave, you're a great friend, and I'm really grateful I'm friends with you. But about your question from last Saturday, I'm really sorry but I don't think I want to be in that sort of relationship with you. I'd rather just stay friends, and while I feel a bit bad about sticking you in the friend zone, I don't want to be in a relationship where I don't feel the same way about you. I'm really sorry but that's my answer." I looked at the ground, too abashed to face him.

Then he started laughed, making me look up really confused. He leaned his back against the wall to support himself as he laughed. "What's so funny?" I demanded, my voice slightly higher pitched than normal.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just so relived. Being rejected like that wasn't so bad-it was the waiting that was torture!" He managed to withhold the bulk of his laughter before continuing, "Besides, one day your feelings might change. Hope is not lost. Besides, I'm perfectly happy to not lose one of my coolest friends, thank you."

It was me who started laughing in relief now, "Zave, the point of that was to tell you I want to keep you as a friend, and to make sure I wasn't leading you on! Not to further encourage you!"

He shrugged, cheek grin on his face, "Hey, I think your trying to spare my feelings has only made me like you more. Besides, it's not like I can help falling in love with the prettiest, cleverest, and funnest girl at the school."

I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling, "Cleverest, maybe. Prettiest? Not by a long shot. And 'funnest' isn't a word, dummy."

"She's smart too!" We both started laughing, and I felt a lot lighter in spirit.

"Ha! Smart, you say? Tell that to her grades, they'll sadly disagree."

"Eh, grades smrades. They're poor judges of intellect."

…. …. ….

I went to bed that night at about midnight-after finishing all my homework and practicing Klaus' assignments, as well as making a few final adjustments to my amulet-content and tired. But not as tired as I was last week-I'm adjusting to the schedule of school life nicely, if I do say so myself.

To think I was going to go to a public school back in Terra before I was accepted for a trial period here. That wouldn't have been nearly so much fun. I'd would have had to hide my magic entirely, and I probably would have gotten worse at it as time to practice lessened. Instead, I'm here and improving rapidly since I'm actually under instruction of people who can teach magic, both the teachers and Klaus, instead of trying to do it myself. Merely two weeks ago I couldn't control my wind magic long enough to make a pile of leaves-now, I don't think it'd pose a single problem. I'm so glad I got to come here instead. I don't even want to dwell on what the alternative would've been.

I'm not going to say for sure that I'm going to pass my trial. Assumptions can kill. But I'm going to hope to the sun that I can pass it. I'm not sure what exactly I'd do if I didn't, but I'm praying that it'll be a bridge I won't have to cross. After nearly two weeks, I love this place like home. I don't want to leave. I'll do everything I can to make it in, no matter how many tries it takes.

…. …. …. (Friday-Day 10 of Selene's Trial)

I slid into my seat for Professor Merkulova's class, peppy and alert and half an hour early. Completely ready for my day. I've put Elias' treat on his desk-little cup-shaped sugar cookies filled with lemon curd and topped with a raspberry. Pretty and tasty. Not extremely sweet, but perfectly balanced with the sweetish-sourness of the lemon curd. They only take about an hour to make-and most of that's chill time in a fridge. Three for each person. After about three, they start to loose the taste and it's pointless to eat any more for an hour or so.

My one worry is Yukiya. I hope he's okay. I don't know if he'll show up or not in class. With luck, he'll be back to normal.

I pull out a novel I had brought to the academy in my suitcase-Mastiff, the last book in the Beka Cooper trilogy by Tamora Pierce-but I haven't really gotten a chance to start reading it. I adore Tamora Pierce books, and own all but a few. This one I got recently from one of my friends as a gift because they know I've been trying to get one. In Terra, my family tries to stay off the radar of the internet as much as possible to avoid detection. We have to be really careful with our magic so we're not discovered-memory spells are emergency procedures only because they're really, really hard to get perfect and make sure you don't erase the entirety of someone's memory. And then there's the fact that the more memories erased, the easier it is to recall them all with a trigger.

On to reading until class starts.

…. …. ….

Yukiya came back to class during History of Magic, looking fit as a fiddle and acting perfectly normal. Normal for Yukiya, anyway. I decided to talk to him for a few minutes after school, as I had to spend the majority of break between my third and fourth classes talking to the headmaster about what I'd do for exams if I passed my trial. He said that since I came so late in the quarter, and the fact that I'm from Terra and don't know nearly so much Myulan, or Geolunan history, for that matter, that he'd just give me a test over what we've gone over in class with a few extra key points I'd need to go over before I took it.

I also told him about what Klaus had figured out about what he'd said yesterday, and thanked him a ton for his suggestion. He smiled and said he knew that we'd figure it out.

"We attempted it yesterday, and it seemed to work pretty well. I managed to nearly freeze a glass of water. That's more like ice magic than anything I've ever managed to accomplish." I was really proud of that fact. "I'm hopeful that being able to do this might help me pass my trial next week!"

"You shouldn't sell yourself short. With the dramatic improvement you've had since you entered the school, I'm sure you'll be able to pass with no problem."

I kicked a bit at the ground, embarrassed by the praise, "Maybe, sir, but I won't dare assume I will. Expect and prepare for the worst and hope for the best, after all."

"That's a good philosophy. Now, you should probably hurry to your next class." He smiled kindly and I realized that most of the students for the next class had filtered in, and I only had about a minute to make it to Professor G's classroom. Which was nearly across the school.

"Yikes! That you, sir!" I was glad I had already gathered my stuff as I darted out the door, to the laughter of a few of the underclassmen in the classroom. Oops. Eh, Oh is Well.

…. …. ….

In Professor G's class, we started the amulet presentations. There were some okay ones, and a few that were pretty cool-like Elias' and Luca's. Elias' was a moonstone charm that protected the wearer from most mild to moderate curses and jinxes. Those were hard to make since there are so many spells that someone can use against another in that manner. Elias only got deducted a few small points for originality-but it only brought him down to a 98.8%, and I later managed to convince him that perfection isn't always attainable and it didn't affect his overall grade so he shouldn't worry about it. The hardest thing for him to swallow was that Luca had done better.

Luca's, on the other hand, was this black rock-I'm pretty sure he picked it up by the lake-that when activated with a spellword, canceled all light in the room, making it blacker than pitch for about three minutes. It sent the majority of the students in a panic until I did a sharp whistle and told them to shut up and wait for the lights to turn back on, and act like mature people instead of little kids. Thankfully, I had learned such a whistle a few years back. It's a very useful device for crowd control.

When the lights did come back on a few minutes later, Luca was gone and the amulet was sitting on Professor G's desk. I started laughing. "Luca has escaped again!" I declared, snorting with laughter. Most of the class, including the professor, joined with me in laughing. He gave Luca a few bonus points for creativity and originality, bringing the 97% up to a 100% and making his overall grade for the class a 75%-and I figured out that Luca was using the big-point projects to keep afloat so he'd pass with having to do only the least amount of work (I asked him about this later and he confirmed it cheerfully). Smart and effective for someone like Luca who really couldn't care less about such "boring" classes. That's what made Elias so frustrated. But all in all, Luca did deserve it, and I gave Elias a good talking to about discovering his own, original style and not just doing exactly what the textbook says at a later point.

Yukiya also presented his, which was pretty much a recording device. You activate it and it'll record whatever's said in great clarity. While both the professor and I knew such things were commonplace in Terra, they weren't here, so he got a good grade at about a 94% (mostly because he didn't say all that much or even seem interested in presenting…)

I was really excited to present mine on Monday-I'm going to see if in training tonight, Klaus will help me see if there's anything I can fix or change to improve it. I'm going to explain how it'll be the equivalent of my exam grade, and if I do well with it, it'll make my grades go way up, making his go up a bit again. Therefore, it is of great importance.

Oh, and I need to remember to tell him about my plans for Elias this weekend-if I can get his help, it'll be awesome. I'm pretty sure Yukiya will help if I ask him, too. So it shouldn't be so hard to pull this off-plus, I know Klaus loves pulling pranks on Elias. Elias has told me stories of some of the pranks his brother has pulled on him-fake magic tools, exploding boxes, and lots of other things. I'm sure he'd help me with this one that would actually be beneficial to Elias. Last night I actually came up with a bunch of riddles for it. It's going to be great. I just have to convince Klaus to aid me.

…. …. ….

I sat in bed that night, finishing my last bit of homework for History of Magic, a bit of studying I was doing to cover a few of the key points he'd given me to read about for the test I'd take. If I manage somehow to pass my trial, that is. I'm not getting my hopes up with thinking there's no way I won't pass, but I'm not going to be blatantly sure that I'll fail. Don't expect more than average, and you won't be devastated.

This sort of thinking for me has become some kind of mantra these past few days. No matter the outcome, I won't have to worry about it after Wednesday.

I pull out the stack of large notecards I've been using to write the riddles for tomorrow on. I find my ballpoint pen and continue. I'm nearly done, and it's turning out a lot better than I thought it would.

This is going to be awesome. I just need to wake up early enough to get everything ready and in place. Klaus agreed to help by distracting Elias so I can finish it, and Yukiya will help me with one of the final steps. It's going to be Perfect.


	48. Pairings Character Guide

Okay, these are kind of needed at this point. These are the other three OC pairing's I'm going to be bringing in to the world of Elemental. Each will get their own individual spin-off story that corresponds with certain points in Elemental. They'll all be interwoven at times, too. It's going to be awesome when, if, I can pull this off. As for now, I'm putting this here so the Year Anniversary special for Elemental makes a little more sense. :)

* * *

(Elias x) **Katalina Sommer** =(meaning of names in order) pure-animal tamer (age 15)

Magic Specialty: animal magic

Character Description: milk-chocolate brown eyes-medium brown hair-mildly tanned colored skin-a little thinner than she should be, but then again she's had to provide for herself.

Bio: Katalina will be a lot more like the original MC, just because Elias and the original OC were the best fit in my mind because they're both so cute and bashful. She'll still be endearingly naïve, but not so air headed. More innocent than ditzy. I'm thinking of calling this one **Taming a Wizardess (Heart)**. I'm trying to have a theme with all the titles.

* * *

(Yukiya x) **Philyra Fonix** =lover of music (no surname-takes on Selene's when Selene pretty much adopts her) (age 14)

Magic Specialty: spellsinging, hiding magic (mainly because it can be hard for most people to notice her most of the time anyway)

Character Description: left eye is sea green with bright blue flecks, right eye is a stormy grey-mousy brown hair that tends to cover her eyes-pale skin-smaller than Yukiya by a head-too thin from malnutrition.

Bio: She'll be cursed, like Yukiya (it's more in her head and lack of self-confidence than anything). She speaks way less than even Yukiya, because she's afraid of her voice. Since she has Siren's blood in her lineage, she inherited the magical voice of a Siren. She also grew up in a not so good way, always being beaten and such by her parents when she spoke or was noticed (they were afraid that they'd be killed because they lived in a village ((a fishing village by the sea-people who live by the sea in olden times tended to be very superstitious) that was not tolerant of magic). She's sold off to slave traders at the age of almost fourteen, and then she'll be rescued by Selene in Elemental somewhere in the fifties chapters. After all of that, Selene pretty much took Philyra in, mostly because Selene's mother mode kicked in and she could tell that this poor girl needed help. Philyra and Yukiya shared the whole "cursed" thing, the quiet tendencies, and the fear/hatred of their own magic. She's the **Cursed Wizardess (Heart)** (that's the title there!) Oh, and she also loves sunshine because she didn't get to see/enjoy it that much as a slave or even back in her foggy little birth village.

* * *

(Serge x) **Zelia March** =sunshine (age 17)

Magic Specialty: time, space (like transporting and such), divining the future/past

Character Description: Bright blue eyes (that always have a glimmer of either curiosity or mischief)-hair that is the same color as her eyes (I mean, Serge has cotton candy pink hair, so why not?)-semi-tanned skin-a few inches shorter than Serge (so she's taller than Selene)-is extremely hyper and cooks a lot so she can eat more (like Selene, she eats waaaaay more than normal, but it's expectable because of how hyper she gets, like Serge)

Bio: Okay, she's going to be a lot like Serge in the way they think (a way that doesn't really make much sense to anyone else). She also has a talent dealing with time magic and at one point accidentally transports her and Serge to the past. This will be after the Randy's arc in Selene's story, and so while he has somewhat accepted what really happened to Randy this will be his closure type of thing. I haven't thought so much about this OC, but her story will be interesting. Oh, and she's the younger sister of the real Randy March! The title will be something along the lines of: **Sister Wizardess (Heart)**.

* * *

(Luca x) **Marelda Kramer** =renowned warrior-shopkeeper (age 16)

Magic Specialty: binding magic to weapons, strength/speed/other fighting spells

Character Description: dark violet eyes (not like the Goldsteins eyes, which are lighter violet)-fiery red hair-tanned skin (from training outside so much)-an inch taller than Luca-toned body ((okay, I'll easily admit that she's a lot like a Tamora Pierce's (my absolute favorite author of all time and my hero) main character, Alanna, from her Song of the Lioness Quartet (except for Alanna is really short unlike Marelda), but then again Luca is a lot like Alanna's eventual husband, George, in some ways))

Bio: Marelda is what you might call a "violent" girl, in a way. She's far more tomboyish that Selene, and likes the art of fighting. She constantly trains, skipping class to do so (she deems it more important, and she does her best to make up her work, unlike a certain someone)-which is how she originally meets Luca. His carefree attitude clashes with her strict self-hardening-of-the-heart (the ideal warrior after all can at least hide their emotions, of not get rid of them, after all). The reason she is working so hard to become a wizard warrior (one of the few female ones) is because when raiders attacked the little village in the mountains where she grew up, they killed her father and the older brother she adored. She was six at the time, and has two little sisters and a mother-all of whom would have been killed if not for the wizard warrior who made it to the remote town (it took days to get there by foot, it was so out of the way) within a day and saved who was left, about two thirds of the town. So she applied to Geolune Royal Magic academy to learn how to use her magic to become a **Warrior Wizardess (Heart)** (that'll be the title!) Luca really makes her annoyed, which he finds ridiculously funny. She'll be in the same class as Amelia Nile, too. This takes place after Randy's (real Randy) and Serge's arcs in Elemental.


	49. One Year Anniversary Special

SQUEEEEEEEE! Today's the day, guys! As of today, Friday, July 29, 2016, this story is officially one year old! It's thanks to all the support I get from you guys that this story has made it _so_ far. Heck, when I started it, it was going to be, like, only a handful of chapters and _waaayy_ different than it's ending up. So, again, my dear, dear sweet readers, I thank you again! I love you all so much, even if I've never met you! I really hope you keep reading this story!

I've also set up a poll. I want to know which Wizardess character from the first three trilogies is your favorite. Go to my author page and vote!

Honestly, I had fun researching the dances mentioned in this. How well do you think I fit the dances with the couples in this one? Let me know.

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Year Anniversary Special-Dancing Lessons

The academy's annual Start of Summertime dance was fast approaching. Selene, while talking to the other girls, Katalina, Philyra, Marelda, and Zelia, learned that not all of them knew how to formally dance. Zelia, coming from a noble family, knew how, but Katalina only knew the country dances from her village's festivals-Philyra and Marelda new none. Philyra because she'd never been able to, and Marelda because she had never cared and had been focused on other things.

And Selene, being Selene, decided that they should take a day to learn something about this sort of thing, and reserved the school's smaller ballroom-definitely big enough for the purpose. She then proceeded to put the five girls (herself included in that number) in long skirts-"What's the point of practicing," she had said, "if it's completely different from when you actually have to do it?"-much to Philyra and Katalina's delight, and to Marelda's pouting.

"I don't even want to go." She grumped, "I don't see why you're making me do this."

"Why Marelda!" Selene cried, "Are you saying you _don't_ want to be able to dance with Luca?"

Marelda promptly turned red, "What's that got to do with anything?!"

"Oh, think of just how disappointed poor Luca will be," Selene said slyly to the other three girls, who nodded in agreement, "He'll pout for a month if he doesn't get to dance with his darling girl!"

"Fine!" Marelda shouted, much to the giggles of the others, "Just shut up about it already!"

So, after getting everyone into the proper skirts (and heels, for some of them-Katalina, Philyra, and Selene were a good deal shorter than their partners, while Zelia was just the right dancing height for Serge's height, and Marelda was actually a little taller than Luca, and much to her relief, didn't have to wear anything more than flats), Selene dragged them to the ballroom, where their practice partners were waiting for them. Serge had been her advocate in getting the guys ready.

When they walked in, Serge was practically bouncing off a wall in excitement, Luca grinned roguishly at the sight of his girlfriend in a skirt, which she pretty much never wore, Yukiya stopped tugging at the bowtie someone had tied around his neck, Elias did his best to keep a blank face, while Klaus just looked openly bored.

She nudged the girls forward, "Have fun!" and skipped over to Klaus (how she skipped in four inch heels is beyond me), grabbing his arm and pulling him on the dance floor, before saying in a most cheery manner, "Come on boys! Stop gawking! You all need to teach them at least one ballroom dance before tonight! The ball is only next weekend! Go, go!"

She whispered at Klaus, "Is the spell in place? The one that'll make them hear whatever music goes with the dance they're trying to learn?" It was a brilliant spell, actually, that Serge had helped in the creation of-it plays whichever type of song the leader of the dance was thinking of.

Klaus sighed and nodded, "What I don't see is why we need to be here. I know we both know how to dance, and quite well, might I add."

Selene put on a fake pout-face, "Are you saying you don't want to dance with me?"

A second passed and he grabbed her wrist, twirling her into him, "I didn't say that, now did I?" With his free hand, he flicked his wand and uttered a short incantation. Music began to play, startling a few of the others in the room. What Selene heard was the…

"Tango?" she giggled as he smirked, "Why, you rascal! ...Let's do this." And they started off.

Meanwhile, in the other parts of the room, Elias was explaining the Waltz to Katalina, who kept stumbling and stepping on his feet and making Elias' face glow redder every time she fell into him.

"Come on, Katalina, it's not _that_ hard…" Elias winced as she stepped on his foot again.

"Oh! Sorry!" She cried. She looked down again at her feet, trying not to yet again repeat the toe-stepping.

"No! Don't look down! You'll make it worse!"

"Sorry!"

"Careful! It's a 1-2-3 1-2-3 pattern."

"Ah!"

"Ow! My foot!"

"S-sorry!"

Yukiya, several feet away, was leading a giggling Philyra through the slow-slow-quick-quick steps of the…

"What's this called?" Philyra asked, looking up at him.

"The Foxtrot." Yukiya responded with a small smile.

"Oh, what a cute name!" She giggled. "It's not to hard, either, not like what Zelia and Serge are doing…"

Indeed, the aforementioned two were laughing freely as they went slow-quick-quick through the faster and more complicated version of the Foxtrot, the Quickstep.

"They look like they're having so much fun, don't they Yuki?" Philyra smiled.

"They do." Then he added, "But when don't they?"

"True." She giggled again.

In fact, they were having so much fun that Zelia nearly ran into Marelda and Luca before she noticed they were there.

"Oops! Sorry! Don't mind us!" Zelia called, directing her and Serge into a more open part.

Marelda sighed, muttering, "Those two would dance themselves straight off a cliff."

"Aw, is my Marelda jealous?" Luca raised a teasing eyebrow. He and Marelda weren't really doing an actual dance, but were stepping slowly from one side to the other. Marelda was completely stiff, while Luca was just happy that Selene actually managed to get her here.

"As if!" She sniffed. "Why would I want to dive off a cl...wah!"

Luca had suddenly gripped her hand and spun her around, then tipped her back with his other arm around the curve of her back, he leaned forward, dangerously close to her.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" She yelped, trying to squirm away.

Luca pouted, "Do you not like me or something?"

"I-I never said that!" she cried, her face completely flushed beneath her tan.

"Then just go with it." He began rapidly leading her through steps that swept her across the floor in the graceful turns and spins of the Viennese Waltz. She wasn't even sure how, but she wasn't falling over her own feet. "A natural, it seems." He murmured in her ear, making her flush again.

"Shut up!"

For the next while, everyone enjoyed themselves (whether they'd admit it or not). Selene and Klaus had switched to a slower, more relaxed dance, and were watching the others.

"I daresay, Klaus, that this has been a success, wouldn't you agree?" Selene sighed happily, leaning her head on his chest.

"Whatever you say." He didn't even try to hide his smirk.

"Don't say that noncommittal crap, dear, we've been over this." She raised her head to give him a look.

"Whatever you say."

She thumped him on the chest, "Someone's had a little too much sassafrass today, hasn't he?"

"Whatever you say."

"Oh, hush up." She kissed him, effectively hushing him up.

The kiss was broken off when a crash and several yelps occurred. Selene pulled back and looked over to see that Elias/Katalina had collided with Luca/Marelda, and they were all in a heap.

"Pfft…" Selene tried to not laugh, she did.

She failed. And began laughing so hard Klaus, who was shaking his head, had to hold her up.

"Nice one, you four!" She choked out, "Good job!"


	50. Chapter 38

Okay, so Saturday morning I woke up at like six in the morning, but went to bed again after getting a drink. Then, I somehow fell asleep again. And had really weird dream that left me waking up really confused. But, as I remembered it fairly clearly, I sat down and wrote a short story based off of it before I forgot it. And it ended up being a story about a dream that a girl in a coma had, and I'm calling it Comatose Dream. I think I did pretty well. Four handwritten pages in less than forty minutes. Go me!

Sybbie: Thank you so much for the sweet review! I'm sure that I'll have lots more spin-offs in the future, so anticipate them! The girl paired with Luca is Marelda, a girl who is training to be a warrior wizardess. She's going to be similar to the Tamora Pierce character Alanna of Trebond from the Song of the Lioness Quartet. I recommend it, and most anything else by the lovely Tamora Pierce, my inspiration and hero. Marelda's going to be really uneasy with love and she won't put up with crap from Luca. And, she'll be in the same class as Amelia, too! And thank you for the wonderful words you said about my writing. It's people like you who keep me writing!

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Chapter 38

I was up and ready before dawn. I was out the doors by five, running around campus in my one pair of cut-off shorts and t-shirt-the outfit I had come to the academy in, as my sisters didn't pack me proper clothing for running around. I had placed all the clues in place, all of the little riddles I had worked so hard on. And trust me, they were brilliant considering I was not a good poet. They were scattered throughout the grounds. I had Klaus spell them so water and such wouldn't damage them-he thought that this scheme of mine would be a great prank to pull on Eli, so it wasn't hard to procure his aid. I went back to the dorm around six thirty (there were a _lot_ of little note cards-it'll take Eli hours to find them all! Go me!) to eat some breakfast. I was a little winded-it's been a little over two weeks since I've had the chance to run around that much. I should probably start running in the mornings, lest I get _too_ out of shape, which _just_ wouldn't do.

There wasn't many people in the eating area, as a lot of students visit home on the weekends, or, if they don't, most of those who're left will sleep in unless they've got something special planned-as I do. I nod and smile to those I recognise, and they do so back. I'm having so much fun, meeting so many people at this academy. This thought only makes me want to work harder to get accepted. Now that I've only got three days left until my trial, it's constantly on my thoughts. So, reader, I apologize if I become a little redundant with the worries and hopes about my trial. We'll both have to suffer through it because it probably won't end for several more chapters. We'll see how well Authoress condenses unimportant stuff-she's trying, I'll tell you that, at least.

I went back up to my room at around seven. Klaus said he'd get up around then, and would have Elias in his office by eight-the distraction actually has a real reason behind it. They're testing out my amulet, to see if it holds up against someone as strong as Klaus. It can't be tested with me wearing it, because I'm fireproof and all. So those two'll be testing it while I complete the final phase-getting Elias' studying crap, with the help of his awesome roommate, Yukiya, and hiding it in the final place with some other stuff.

Yup. To make Elias take a break from studying, I'm hiding all his studying materials and making him go on a treasure hunt to find them. Best. Idea. Ever.

Amelia's out of bed and dressed by the time I get there, though she's still a little bleary-eyed.

"Mornin'!" I grinned.

"G'mornin'..." she yawns, "What's got you up so bright and early on a Saturday?"

"Oh," I wave, "Just this and that. Hey, I've got an idea of something I could do with your mane. Can I try it?"

"Sure. Just let me finish making my bed."

Amelia has the second-thickest hair I've ever seen. The thickest hair I've ever dealt with wasn't much thicker than hers, but it was the absolute curliest hair I've ever done something with. Amelia's hair is a lot easier because it's only wavy. Curls are a beast when they're long.

What I did was what I like to call a french fishtail. You start of with a french braid until you reach about the base of the skull, then you switch over to a fishtail. I spent nearly forty minutes on the fishtail part because I decided to make it really fine. As talented as I am, there was still a slightly awkward transition part, but it was easily covered with one of her decorative hair clips-a pretty black flower. She was now standing in front of the mirror trying to see what it looks like, twisting her head this way and that. I took pity on her and showed her the double mirror trick-you face away from the big mirror and use a hand mirror to reflect what's behind you in the big mirror. It's a simple yet effective trick.

"Woah! That's so cool!" she exclaimed, patting it with her hand, "I can't believe you managed to get it so neat! My hair's normally nothing but trouble!"

"Hey, once you can tame it, it's perfectly...ah, tame." We laughed.

There was a rattle on the balcony door and I saw that a big blue owl had nudged it. "Wow, I've never seen a blue owl before!" Amelia said as I went over to open it.

"Well hello, there. Are you someone's familiar? You're pretty." It seemed perfectly tame-pfft-as I went and stroked its head.

"Anyone could guess that, shorty. What's taking you so long? Elias said he'd be here in ten or so minutes, so you'd better hurry up." Klaus' voice came from the animal, giving me a start.

"Wow! Klaus, I didn't know you were that good with this kind of magic to the point where you could speak through your familiar! Can you see, too?"

Klaus' POV

"Yes." Not only could I see her, but I could feel her hand petting my familiar on my own head. I don't think I'll mention _that_. "Now hurry up. Or your plans will be wasted." I noticed that she was wearing the same clothes that she came to the academy in-those unladylike shorts and t-shirt. She has no class, none at all. But in my opinion, it's part of her charm. Her hair is up in a high ponytail, which draws attention to her neck...oh gosh I've got a problem.

"Plans?" her roommate says suggestively, teasing Selene, "What sort of plans are these?"

"A treasure hunt for a anti-social student with Obsessive-Studying Disorder, also known as OSD." Selene replied, ignoring the innuendo of her roommate.

"Huh?"

"That's for me to know and for you to become a curious cat." Selene snickered, continuing to stroke my-the owl's head. The owl's head.

"That made no sense!" the girl cried.

"Egg-xactly." She turned her attention back to me, "Aaaaallrighty! I'll be done by nine at the latest. I'll come by the office when I'm done. Make sure you guys actually test that amulet, though. I do need it to be tested. Again." She smiled and laughed at herself, and boy was I glad my familiar didn't blush. Her stroking combined with the smile would've definitely made heat rise to my face...Seriously, this love-sick idiot business _needs_ to be fixed.

My familiar took flight and I withdrew from its consciousness. It was a minute or two before I heard a knock on the door. "Come in." I stood up from where I was seated at my desk as Elias entered the room.

"You needed me?" Elias asked.

"Yes. Selene's begged me to help test her amulet, but since she's-ah, how does she put it?-'fireproof', we can't use her as a test wearer. Hence, this is where you come in."

He slumped, "Why me? I've got studying to do…" He straighten, resigned look on his face, "But knowing Selene, she'll just beg and pester me until I do it. Where is she anyway?"

"Too true, little brother, too true." I replied, "She decided to sleep in"-this was the cover she came up with-"and when I sent my familiar to wake her up, she said she'd be here by nine."

"Since when does Selene, the most morning-oriented person I know, sleep in?" I shrugged at his question. He's perceptive. It's a good thing that there's an excuse for most anything Selene does:

"It's Selene. Who can fathom what goes on in her head?"

We headed to a courtyard and I handed him the amber amulet. He inspected it. "She won't get deducted points for aesthetics, if anything. Simple, but functional and appealing at the same time. Quite like her, do you agree, brother?"

"Is my obtuse little brother attempting to tease me?" I raised an eyebrow. This was new.

"Perhaps." He replied, putting the chain over his head, "How do we test this?"

I muttered a firespell and a ball of it shot towards him, hitting him and making him yelp. "Like that." I said simply.

"Klaus! You could have hurt me!" He growled.

"Not likely. You're not the first person to test this. She's had others do so. Our job is to figure out what she can do to fine tune." I said, showing no emotion, though in actuality I was pretty amused by his reaction. I can scarcely wait until he finds out the trick Selene is pulling. "From what she told me, the amulet absorbs the energy, storing it until the wearer can use it in turn."

"It's only amber, though. Wouldn't it heat up really fast?"

"That's the main issue, she said. It's not a problem if the energy is used quickly, but if too much builds up, it starts to get really hot. She's attempting to use a reversal heat spell to cause the energy to cool down to a level for the charm to be able to store it safely without losing to much of the energy itself."

"That's actually pretty smart." He mused.

"The headmaster gave us the idea for her to, instead of trying to use ice spells, to just reverse the heat transfer in fire spells. From what we've tested, it seems like it could work with practice. Now," I said, grinning wickedly and holding up my wand, "Let's see how well she's managed to do it."

…. …. ….

Selene came running into the courtyard about ten or so minutes after nine. "How's Treasa holding up?"

"Trey-sa?" Elias asked, "What?"

"My amulet. I named it Treasa-it means intensity and strength." She gave him a big grin, "Don't judge my love of naming things."

"I wasn't judging...it's been a _long_ time since I've judged anything you do…" he said, shaking his head.

"Good!" She turned to me, "Report soldier! My goal is complete, is yours?"

"Mostly." I told her of a few minor adjustments, and she nodded her head thoughtfully.

"Awesomesauce. I would've never thought to do some of those. I shall fix them later. Now," she turned on Elias, "Eli, dear, I've decided that you need help."

"Help? Not really." He looked suspicious. Good. At least he'd not completely oblivious to Selene's schemes.

"Yes, you do. You have something called OSD-and we need to start taking steps towards the cure!"

"OSD? What the heck is that?" he demanded.

"Obsessive-Studying Disorder."

He gasped, "Selene, you _didn't…_ "

"I did! You won't be able to find your studying crap unless…"

"Selene! You return it all _right_ now! You had no right to steal my stuff!" He went on ranting. At least he surmised what she did.

She pursed her lips and folded her arms, putting her weight on one leg and sticking her hip out to the side, looking the very picture of a mother waiting for her child's temper tantrum to end. Eventually Elias stopped demanding for his stuff back, and silently glared at her. I just watched the whole scene, amused. This was exactly what I would've predicted to happen, only it wasn't this funny in my head.

"I wasn't done, Mr. Whiny-Baby." He opened his mouth to retaliate, but she held up a single finger, silencing him. "I had an 'unless' in that sentence before you cut me off. Let me finish that sentence, won't you? You won't get the stuff back until you manage to solve this trail of riddles I've laid." She pulled a notecard out of her back pocket that had a number "1" on the back and handed it to him. He snatched it and began to read it. "And you won't be able to ask other people and cheat, because I'm the only one who knows where any of them are, and I'm sure as heck not telling you~."

He glared at her, "Are you just trying to torture me or something? ' _To find the place where the next is hidden, you must go to where you're bidden. Trek where you find your brother dear, it's where you started, so quite near._ ' What the heck does this mean?!"

"It's a riddle. You're a smartie pants, figure it out. All of the riddles are things you can figure out, trust me. I'm pretty proud of how well I made these things!" She smiled, clearing sending the message that she wasn't helping him. This was going to be fun, if not for Elias, for me.

* * *

Authoress: I have a feeling that this ender won't be all that long...heck, I didn't even have an ender last time.

Aurora: You were also trying to get it posted while you were writing your bike from your phone.

Selene: And, you weren't allowed to get on your laptop that day, either.

Authoress: Still, I should've written the ender before that day. I normally add them to the chapter a few days in advance, so I don't have to worry about it…

Selene: Stop throwing a pity party. You've got one this time.

Authoress: But it's a lame one...mostly me being a Debby Downer.

Selene: Then be a Positive Petey!

Authoress: But I'm a girl…

Selene: Fine. Be that way. Let us go, Aurora, before we too are affected with negativity.

Aurora: Sure thing, mom.

Selene: You must get the sarcastic attitude from your father. You surely didn't get it from me.


	51. Chapter 39

First and foremost—I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sooooorrrrryyyyyy! I know this was due to be posted last Monday, but I, uh…might have, uh…gotten myself grounded for two or so weeks...again, I'm so terribly sorry.

: I can't thank you enough for that pm you sent me. When I read it I was really upset and it made me feel downright special and loved. You will never know the extent of how you helped me. Thank you.

Okay, I'll admit that this chapter is really short, but it's got a really long, fun ender to it. Enjoy!

Chapter 39

Klaus' POV

I could pretty easily figure out what it meant-now let's see if he can. My only concern is when she put it there-because that door is locked.

I could practically see his brain working as he tried to find the answer to the riddle. Then I saw his eyes light up, "Is it…?" he started briskly walking towards the way we entered the courtyard. Selene skipped after them and I decided that I might as well follow them.

We ended up outside my office, where my suspicions were confirmed. Elias tried the handle, but it was locked. I sighed and pulled out the key, handing it to him. He opened the door, handed the key back, and on the tea table was a notecard the same size as the first one.

"I'm curious as to how you got that inside a locked room that has an enchanted lock to keep it from being opened by anything but the key." I muttered out of the corner of my mouth, only loud enough for Selene to hear. She turned to me, closed-eyed smile on her face.

"You've got it protected against being opened by magic. I picked the lock easily-then again, I'm pretty good at picking locks. Not as good as Inan, of course, but he's pretty much the family locksmith. You wouldn't believe the places some of my family members get locked into, myself included. You assumed anyone who'd try to break in would attempt to use magic, which does make sense since this is a school of magic and all. That's also the major flaw with your spell-it doesn't prevent entrance by nonmagical means. You assumed, and therefore, you made a mistake. Don't worry, it happens to everyone, even the Emperor!" She went to peer over Elias' shoulder and see how far he was with the riddle.

Inwardly, I'm taken aback by her logic. She's right-I assumed magic would be used to break in. I never would have guessed that anyone at this school, Selene included, would be able to pick the lock. Then again, this is Selene, and she's in possession of a number of random talents that I pretty sure no one besides she knows all of.

Elias headed out the door with Selene following close behind. I locked the door before I left, making a mental note to remove the spell and apply a different, improved one later. I don't want her being able to get in when I don't want her too...who knows what she'd do to the office when I'm not there…

The two of us followed Elias as he went from one clue to another-we went all over the grounds. I was surprised at just how much work Selene's put into it, and how well she managed to create this. Yesterday she told me that she often made treasure hunts for her nephews and it was a fun thing for her to do, but I didn't expect her to do nearly this much. After a few clues, Elias relaxed and started enjoying it, much to Selene's joy.

Speaking of Selene, she disappeared part way through and reappeared about an hour later, around eleven thirty. She checked the number Elias was on.

"Ooh! Number 27! You only have three more! Good job!" She clapped him on the back, making him stumble, "Oh come on! I didn't hit you that hard!" She laughed. Elias shook his head, but was smiling. "You seem to be having fun! Aren't you glad I did this?"

"I'm still annoyed you took my stuff."

"Aww!" she whined, "I didn't steal it, I hid it and gave you a way to find it!"

"You stole it to make me find it. That's still stealing." I could tell that Elias was just messing with her at this point.

"Nu-uh! It'd be stealing if I didn't tell you how to find it, and since I did, it's not technically stealing!" She defended. "Besides, you can't deny you're having fun!"

"I'm not having fun in the slightest." I could tell he was having a hard time keeping a straight face. He never was as good at that as I was.

"Liar!" She began tickling his sides, making him squirm and laugh and try and swat her hands away-only she seemed to know what she was doing. Her hands were darting in and out and Elias was giggling like he was a kid again. He always was really ticklish, and I guess he hasn't grown out of it.

"S-stop!" He gasped between giggles, "You're right! You're right!"

"Aha!" She triumphantly threw her hands up in the air, "Life lesson: woman are always right even if they're wrong-and I'm quoting many, many men! Now, hurry up because I'm hungry and you're almost done!"

It made me really happy to see these two interact. I wasn't even jealous of Elias' relationship with her because I knew how much trouble he had making friends. In fact, I was as pleased as I could be because she had become his friend. If she wasn't his friend, she wouldn't have done so much to try and help him with his "problem" as she so delicately put it. Ha. Selene, you are a mystery of nature that will never be understood.

In my mind, that might just be a good thing.

Selene's POV

I was happy, because my plan worked and Eli was having fun! Go me! With one clue left, he was nearly there. But this one was a little tricker than the rest, but, like with most riddles, the answer was blaringly obvious once you knew it.

Elias inhaled as he figured it out, and darted off in the direction of where the prize was. I skipped off after him, turning around and walking backwards, "Klaus, hurry up or there'll be no lunch left for you!" I called to him, then turned back around, laughing as I chased after his little brother.

A few seconds later. "What was that you said?"

I yelped as I heard a voice by my ear, and turned by head to see that Klaus, smirking (as always), was effortlessly keeping up with me. I stuck my tongue out, "You heard me, ninnyhammer!" I sped up. I felt adrenaline start to course through me as he matched my speed. "Race you!" I cried, speeding up. My brothers always said I ran weird, on the tips of my feet and my arms usually flung back, practically prancing like a gazelle or deer or something. I looked over at Klaus. He ran on the heels of his feet. Sure, that sort of running allowed more balance, especially if you're heavier because it put less stress on the normally weaker toes of the feet. Klaus weighed a lot more than I did, because he was both bigger and physically stronger, so the way he ran made sense for him. I, on the other hand, didn't weigh all that much, and was smaller in stature, so running on the tips of my toes allowed me to put more force behind each step and propel myself forward, pretty much like a spring, as well as dodge any obstacles in my path, which was helpful for running on open ground like this.

He managed to keep pace with me, as we each pulled ahead in turn. We quickly surpassed Elias, who stumbled as we did so, quite suddenly, might I add. I laughed gleefully as I sped up. It was a pretty straight line, so I flung my arms out and ran like the wind, which is funny since I was technically running against the light breeze. What can I say? Running's fun!

I managed to pull ahead of Klaus as I sped up, the goal in sight. I sprinted as fast as I could. Then I realized I was about to run into the picnic type lunch I'd set up and swerved. I slipped and spun before plopping my bottom on the ground, falling back onto the soft grass by the lake and laughing. Klaus made it a few seconds later, mostly because he slowed down instead of nearly running into the food.

"It's been a while since someone other than Wade has kept up with me so well!" I was laughing freely, "But I still won!" I declared.

"Ever think it might be because I let you?" He challenged. I saw the twinkle in his eye and knew he was only joking. His breathing was pretty even, and was slowing down pretty fast-he's got some good lung power.

"Naw, this is you we're talking of. You don't 'let' people win!" was my rebuttal.

"Well, now." Elias had appeared. "Seems like the two of you are having fun." I noticed he sent a smug look Klaus' way-a look which his brother seemed to ignore, if it weren't for the sharp look he gave Elias when I 'turned away'-but thought nothing of it. Brother's tease each other. The Goldstein's were no exception. It's nothing strange.

"Yup! It's a great, fun, happy day, Eli! Your studying crap is up in that tree-mostly so you won't be tempted to go get it until after lunch!" His gaze followed my finger up to a nearby, quite tall, tree. The bag was placed in the upper barch of the tree, wedged between branches with a spell to hold it in place, just in case. It was above the place where Elias could safely go, due to his weight. But it was no problem for a squirrel like me! "I'll get it down after we chow!" I sat up, my laughter subsiding a little, but being partially renewed by the slump of Elias' shoulder as he let out a resigned sigh. Pfft. What a cinnamon roll. You know what? That's what he is. A cinnamon roll-he's sweet with some spice mixed in, even if he tries to hide it with a simple appearance. Pfft...

Okay, so SuccintHeart269 (SH) and I had a conversation a while ago where we debated how I, Authoress, could hide Selene in a way where Klaus couldn't find her. Here's a redone version of it! (Note: this conversation takes place in Terra)

Authoress: Seriously, though. It'd be really hard to pull off. He's such a clever wizard, and Selene's pretty hard to miss.

SH: Well you could try and take his wand away because he will most likely try to use magic. Getting the wand away is hard though because you'd have to take his wand-summoning ring and I ain't doing that, you seen what he's capable of?

Authoress: How could we separate him from that ring? If we could get the ring away, we could use it to summon the wand while he's sleeping. Wait...someone with magic would have to summon it, seeing as I don't have any myself, sadly. Selene, perhaps? She might know how. I'd suggest Elias, but I feel like he'd tattle to save his own skin, seeing as it is Klaus and all…

SH: Elias would definitely tell Klaus so he's out of it, Selene, she would totally help because you don't often get a good chance to mess with the Emperor! But you could get Selene to ask Klaus if she could have a look at the ring to see how it works, ect., then run off with it. At least that would be interesting to watch.

Authoress: But the point is to do it without him realizing it until it's too late. If she does that, he'll give chase, and he's almost the same speed as her with only a fraction less stamina. And, he might be alerted to what we're trying to do, at least somewhat, and would be suspicious of Selene (and maybe me), which would make it exponentially harder to accomplish our goal.

SH: True… my only other idea depends on if this is gonna be during the story (i.e her trial and a bit after) or just in the enders where they are (I think) together? Because I do have an idea but I need to clarify that exact fact first. I will not go into detail… not yet…

Authoress: Good choice. It might be in a special chapter somewhere, I don't know. I wonder if I could convince Selene to steal his ring while he's sleeping. Or, I wonder where he puts it when he goes to take a shower, because if he leaves it in his room, we could have Selene nick it from where he has it. But then we'd need a way to hide any traces of her magical aura, because Klaus can sense it. Unless she makes the excuse of looking at his books to borrow one or something, to cover that. What do you think?

SH: That is a good idea because my idea was a bit… 18+ idea but let's stick to her stealing it when he's asleep or having a shower. If she was to either she would have to use no magic because, like you said, he can sense her magic. But where to hide his ring… this is just a crazy suggesting but you could get the headmaster in on it and hide it in his office, chances are he will agree.

Authoress: That's probably for the better. I don't think I explained how sensing magical aura works, did I? You don't need a cast a spell for someone to be able to sense your magical aura. If you have magic, you leave a little bit of your essence wherever you are. The stronger your magic and/or the longer you are someplace or touch something or whatever, the stronger the presence that remains behind. Thankfully, only the more powerful wizards and wizardess' can sense magical auras unless the aura is extremely powerful-unfortunately, due to Selene's, ah, special magical abilities, her aura is pretty strong, especially when she's mad. I think the headmaster might agree to hide the ring, though, especially if we don't tell him the purpose for doing to. He'll probably laugh a little over "Ah, the mischievousness of youth." Or whatever he always says when students do something he finds amusing. But where would we hide the wand? Ooo! Terra! I can hide it at my house in Terra! The basement is such mess of storage and boxes no one can find something unless you know where it is! Next problem: Where and how to hide Selene? She needs to be beyond the abilities of all the person-finder items, like the map divining and such.

SH: Well we can just hide every magic tool that can possibly be used to find her and them away at all different locations in Terra? We could even ask Walter if he will say no to Klaus using his tools? Now to hide Selene… this is just a crazy idea but we could break the fourth wall and she could hang out with me for a bit? I have always wanted to have a conversation with her… and if Klaus can somehow get into my world then I have plenty of places to hide her. Like I said, this is just a crazy idea because I am full of them.

Authoress: Crazy is the genius people haven't figured out yet. I don't think we'd be able to hide all the tools, mostly because there are far too many, but I do think we could hide her in Terra. Magic works differently in Terra, with magical tools especially-HENRY TURN OFF THAT STUPID SONG I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF SPACE UNICORN NOW TURN IT OFF OR I'LL HIDE THE IPAD!-Sorry 'bout that... My youngest brother has been playing either Space Unicorn or What Does The Fox Say? on repeat for who knows how long, and I'm so fed up with those obnoxious, stupid songs... -_-+ Back to what I was saying: most magical tools from Myula won't work very well in Terra, and none can work from Myula and have magical reach/range that can extend to Terra. Only magic tools like the one's Merlin creates will, and I'm doubtful even Klaus can figure out the inner workings, since he's never done anything of the sort, and Merlin's pretty protective of his inventions. Other than the spell rooms that allow someone to travel from Myula to Terra or vice versa, there isn't much known about how to further connect the two worlds So maybe we could try that.

SH: I still like to break the fourth wall… anyway… I swear this is really hard to think when I am singing along to Hare Hare Yukai/Kyon Version, IT IS A CATCHY SONG, OKAY?! So maybe we could just hide her in Gedonelune somewhere, maybe even Reitz?, seems that Klaus won't have his wand. But where to hide her is probably the most challenging thing (a closet?) so it could be something simple that Klaus would be too smart to think of (it is a genius' weakness). If the characters in your story never go to the spring (of unicorns), then you could hide her somewhere there because Klaus won't know the way (it took all of Azusa's route to find the spring so it must be hard to find).

Authoress: Well, since Blayze does have the power to transport Selene from one world to another, it wouldn't be all that hard to make her disappear into Terra. I think she'd like a visit to Australia—it's warm and sunny. She loves warm and sunny.

SH: Well it is currently Autumn but the weather is surprising too hot for this time of year so it should be okay. Now we need to think of ways Klaus could get her back so we could prevent that from happening. So to go over everything we have worked out, Klaus' ring will hide somewhere in the headmaster's office, his wand will be in your basement, and Selene can come chill out with me.

Authoress: Selene won't care. She'd thrive in your mid-summer heat. Thrive, I say. Finding-tools from Myula are out, seeing as they won't work in Terra…wait. I just remembered the special person finding charm Klaus made sometime after the first major arc in the story (which is coming to a start in several chapters)—it magically leads the maker to the one who's connected to the charm. They often contain, well, the most powerful and effective ones often contain a part of that someone. In this case, it's a locket containing a picture of Selene and a small lock of hair—a more common usage for lovers. Meaning we'll have to separate him from the locket. You know, it might just be easier to magically unattached the essence in the locker from the source—that way, it'll no longer be connected to Selene, and we won't have to separate it from Klaus, which I believe would be harder than nabbing both the ring and wand. What says you?

SH: I say we unattach the locket from Selene because taking so many stuff and hiding them asway from Klaus is hard work. Maybe we could ask Selene if she could pretend to look at the locket but instead take out the source? Then afterwards she can just give it back to Klaus without telling him. Even if he was to find out he would still need to get it back, and Selene will most probably put up a fairly good fight and (hopefully) win. I admit it is kinda sweet that Klaus has a locket containing a picture of Selene and her hair, that is truely romantic in my kinda way. Too kawaii…

Authoress: Well, there is a somewhat complicated spell to detach the essence from its source. The way the spell for the charm works like this: the bit of the person wants to still be connected with its source, so cast the right spell and that by becomes attracted to it, allowing it to become a device to find the source. Another thing, Selene doesn't know about the locket, and don't you tell her, please. Klaus doesn't even know that I know (though considering I'm the "all-knowing" author is this story he should guess that I know). It's kind of his sweet little secret, and e originally created it after the arc so he'd never lose Selene like that again, because he doesn't want her to suffer like that ever again. I find it really wonderful how much he loves her. On another, previous note, there is a spell that can cancel the effects of the charm (he can always redo it later).

SH: You know, now that I know that Selene has no idea 'bout the locket… it's just too kawaii… like you said, he truly does love her. Well then, seems that you know about the locket can't you do something about it? If I try and do something I will probably stop and think, "This is too romantic and kawaii, I can't mess with it…".

Authoress: I can get help most likely from Luca, as long as I take any and all blame, to cancel the effects of the charm-and while I agree it's super sweet, adorable, and romantic of Klaus to have it, he can always restore the spell later on, after this game of ours is done. Now, let's review, because I think we're nearly done: First, we include Selene on everything (except for our bit with the locket, I'll take care of that) and get her to locate and filch the ring. Then we get her to summon the wand. Then, I ask the headmaster to hide the ring, (the next few things will happen simultaneously), then I hide the wand in my basement as Selene is whisked away to your place by means of Blayze. Then, I inform Klaus of his challenge (not letting him know anything that may help him in any way, shape, or form), and remind him that he isn't able to do anything to me since I can vanish into my reality in less than the blink of an eye, as to discourage him trying to get information out of me. I'll probably tell him she's well and safe, so he doesn't panic-I'm not that mean, mind-and tell him to find her. Go! And that's that. Pretty good plan, if I do say so myself. Oh, and one thing: if Selene's crashing with you for a while, you'll need to keep her away from any technology with cameras the best you can, in case Klaus tries to use Terran technology (it's Klaus after all, he'll eventually figure it out) to locate her. Everything in place? Does it all make sense?

SH: I'll keep her away from my laptop unless I am there with her and can stop her from using the camera (it only turns on when the camera is of use), hide all cameras (with my parents permission),tell my brother to keep his tablet in his room and I will keep mine in my room, and get anything else and hide it under my bed. During school I can hide her somewhere or let her use a camouflage spell so she can just walk around with me, I prefer the latter. And if Klaus somehow gets to our world then she can disable the spell and I can hide her myself, I have played hide and seek so many times with my brother that I know ever hiding spot possible.y place.

Authoress: Well, it's more of security cameras in worried about. They have sharp eyes these days. She'll have to use a special camouflage spell, because using the one that reflects light can be seen as a blur by cameras, and it's the same with the one that makes her like a camelion. Other than that, I think operation Hiding Selene is a go!

SH: Yay! Me happy! (Am I allowed to annoy her with Taffy talk?) Anyway… this is gonna be so much fun! I will probably try to use her to know more about Klaus, a fangirl must know more… oh no! I'M TURNING INTO THE MASON SISTERS! *curls into ball crying* Help… help… help… help… help… help… help…


	52. Chapter 40

Enjoy Selene's Trial, y'all! We made it! It took forty chapters but we made it!

This is _really_ early in the morning on the 13th day of Selene's Trial (well, for the parts that aren't flashbacks). A lot of her brother's are mentioned, so if you're confused, go back and look at the guide 'cause it's there for a reason. ;)

* * *

Chapter 40

I was so nervous I couldn't sleep. It was exactly 1:23 a.m. on the final day of my trial. It's rare that I get nervous-usually, it's the fact that I can't do anything so I might as well relax that prevents it. Never once have I been nervous going and performing or speaking in front of a crowd, or anything-take Monday for instance.

I had presented my amulet to my Magic Types class, all confident and fun. I presented my tool like I was selling a highly desirable item, explaining what it did with jokes and fun rhymes and the like. Everybody though it was really cool, especially when I demonstrated it and had a few other people (Luca was the person I demo'd on, and Elias demo'd on Yukiya) do so too. Professor G gave me 104%-the highest in the class! When I told Klaus, he actually smiled at me-not smirked, _smiled_ -and told me I did a good job. It was awesome. Professor G said that if I made it through my trial, and he doubted at this point that I wouldn't, that I should enter it in the Magic Competition in the spring. Elias told me more about it. It's pretty cool actually-students, either solo or with a partner, can enter into three categories-tools, essays, and spells. There's a first place in each category, and the three first places are judged against each other for an overall first, second, and third. Apparently each of those three gets a special prize, a prize that's different each year, as well as a boost in grades. It sounded really cool, and if I do pass my trial, I'll enter my amulet-why not, after all?

There it is. The trial. I can't go a few minutes without thinking about it, it seems. It's the cause of my sleeplessness. My rare nervousness. It's terribly annoying. It really is.

I called home Sunday afternoon. Only my oldest brother, Johnathan, and his family were there, along with Inan's son, Daren, who they were watching. I talked to all of them, and understood what it must have felt like for my brothers when they had called all those (or these) years. Galvin and Elvy, my oldest nephews, told me about the awesome tree house they'd found in the woods-I told them about how that was one of my hideouts, and congratulated them on finding it. I told them they could carve their names next to mine on the one bare wall inside, if they wanted to. They got excited, dropped the phone on what I assumed was the couch, and ran off to go do just that. Daren got the phone next, and with his adorable stutter told me about his day, and asked how I liked going to school. I told him that I was having a lot of fun and learning a lot, and he decided he wanted to go here when he "g-g-g-rows up-p." He's so adorable and sweet, and that stutter of his just made him all that much cuter.

I talked with Cynthia for over two hours, as she interviewed me about everything that had happened since I left. She wanted to know all the details, about the schoolwork, whether or not I was making friends, my upcoming trial, if I was having fun. She was as chatty and curious as Amelia. She was especially interested in my buddy, Klaus, and my friend, Zave. Especially Zave, since he'd asked me out. She teased me about how I was such a tease, with all these boys falling for me left and right. She stopped when I threatened to hang up, though. She was only teasing, and she's not nearly so bad as Sarah, seeing as she'll stop when I start getting _too_ annoyed. It was nice, talking with her. She in turn told me about what things had transpired back home since I left. Eric had returned to school, Merlin (but was out for the day with his two redheaded best friends who'd come last Saturday) was still on vacation because his school had the strangest breaks, Wade and Galena had gone back to Myula because Ladlyz season had started again, Matthias and Marie had been working hard in their veterinary practice, on and on and so forth.

Out of all my brothers, the only ones who lived in my childhood home were me, Merlin (still in school), Eric (who was going to be moving into a house soon with his girlfriend), and Johnathan and his family. Everyone else lived somewhere else. Johnny and Cynthia were practically my parents. Johnny was the closest thing to a father I've ever had, and since he was almost fifteen years older than me, he had easily slid into that role. Other kids go to their dads. I went to Johnny. And when my mother passed away just under ten years ago, Cynthia took care of the shell I became for a while, and helped bring me out of that dark place. She'll never be the same as my mother, but I'm so glad she's my sister, because I do love her very much.

I used my phone so long that its hour of magical battery ran up and it started leeching my magical energy. By the time I was done talking with Johnny, I didn't have enough left to do more than light a candle. But it was worth it. I promised myself that if I passed my trial, I'd call Merlin first thing, since I missed him then-he wasn't going to go back to school until next Monday.

It seemed that life back home in Terra had proceeded on the same as it had if I'd been there. A part of me was sad that my being gone hadn't affected much, but mostly I was glad they could handle everything without me. I wasn't all that homesick, since I was so busy, but I did feel a pang of it now, as I lay in the quiet darkness, unable to see anything but outlines and silhouettes, unable to hear anything besides the breeze coming in through the cracked balcony door and my own thoughts.

At least the past few weeks were loads of fun. I learned so much, made so many friends. I want so dearly to pass. Home back on Terra, as much as I love it, would seem boring. How could I switch over from this wonderful, incredible magical place to a dull, mundane public Terran high school?

I can only hope I never have to know the answer to that question.

…. …. ….

Klaus' POV

It was the day of truth. Selene's trial. I decided to pick her up from the dorm, to walk her to the place of judgement in the auditorium. She's never been there, after all. She might've passed it, but I doubted she knew where it was. Plus, it would give me a chance to wish her well.

A long time ago I had fallen into a pattern. School and prefect duties, with occasional family duties. Work, work, work. I had been secretly dreaming of how to convince the headmaster to let me become a professor here, to be able to teach and help students grow. But it was only a dream. That was it. Very little variation. Monotone. Dull.

Then Selene blew in like a multi-colored forest fire, changing everything. In less than three weeks, I'd learned new ways to have _fun_ , watched my brother gain a rare friend, had a chance to teach someone magic, a chance to accomplish my dream-in less than three weeks I had fallen hopelessly (or would hopefully be a better word, I wonder?) in love. I'd had my heart broken then perfectly restored, even if it was still unrequited. I myself had gained a friend, something I really hadn't had for a long, long time.

I was also really philosophical this morning, it seemed.

I was most of the way to the girls dorm, passing by the outdoor gardens that lay between the two dorms. I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and stopped. I looked over and saw Selene sitting on a bench, leaning back and putting her weight on her hands, facing skyward with closed eyes. She had those music-playing things in her ears, and was swaying slightly to whatever played from them. The early morning sun was shining on her, making her appear to glow in a way that made my breath catch. She looked beautiful. I noticed that her hair was in twin braids, like they'd been when she arrived, though they were shorter than they were then. Knowing her, she probably thought it was appropriate to start and end her trial with the same hairstyle. It was such a Selene thing to do.

She may have looked peaceful, but I could tell otherwise. There was a tenseness to her, a straining. The sloppily applied makeup under her eyes did little to conceal the dark circles that told of a sleepless or nearly sleepless night. I'd never seen her this way, nervous, or whatever it is this was.

I reached out and gently tugged on the end of the braid closest to me. She started and her eyes snapped open. "Klaus!" She tugged the listening-things out of her ears and wound them around the device she called a "sell fone." "I didn't see you, sorry."

"That was clear." That came out not how I meant it to. "You look awful." Curse it all, why can't I just sound nice? Supportive? Why does everything have to come out sounding so cynical and harsh?

She laughed wearily, "Eh, I've looked worse." She was always so nonchalant about how I worded things. I remember that first day after she arrived-we both bickered like children, though her responses were more playful and teasing, as if she was just laughing at me. There was the way she wailed to the sky after we became buddies. Since then, we've both learned about each other, our bicker became banter, our glares became joking. I gained a friend and fell in love in one fell swoop. It's difficult and unpleasant to try and imagine how it'd change if she didn't somehow make it.

Stop it Klaus! Don't jinx things. After all, there's no way she can't _not_ make it-with how much she'd improved in just two and a half weeks, as well as how seamlessly she seemed to fit in with everything at the academy. She belonged here, more than anyone.

"You ready?" I held out my hand, "I'll walk you to the auditorium."

She nodded, breathing in as she grabbed my hand and pulled herself up. I started walking, not even bothering to let go of her hand.

She didn't let go of mine either.

…. …. ….

I had told her to come to the office when she was done-today her first hour was a study hall because Professor Merkulova was tending to a student who'd messed up a jinx and ended up covered in boils. Instead of the study period that'd been planned for tomorrow, they'd be making their final two magic sweets.

I felt just as anxious, perhaps even more, than Selene would've felt. I couldn't focus on anything, and gave up after ten minutes. Perhaps straightening up would calm my nerves. I had no reason to be nervous, I kept telling myself; as if repeating that over and over would still my fidgets.

Thing was, there was nothing to straighten. Everything was already perfectly in it's place, no dust to be seen. Yesterday, Selene had figured out how to direct her wind magic to remove all the dust not even a cloth could get and send the dust outside into the distance, and that demonstrated a high level of control compared to the chaotic mess her wind magic was in when she came. Clever girl.

It was because she was clever that she'd make it, I thought, she had to make it. She would make it. She would. She had to. She couldn't _not_ make it.

I decided it'd be better if I just sat at my desk. I picked up my wand and waved it lazily, trailing colored light from the end, and focusing to make it linger in the air, creating colorful scribbles that floated. This spell was an advanced version of the kind that students in the 17th level learn, as they only learn how to write with light in the air in one color. To make it different colors, and shift colors in a single, unbroken line, was far harder. Selene would find this spell fascinating, and beg me to teach her it. The simplest things entertained her, like they would a child. She claimed it was because she had an amazing sense of fun and wonder, and told me that I'd do well to gain some for myself, thank you very much!

She's a special child, that's for sure.

I jumped when a knock sounded on the door, making the light stands vanish. It was Selene's signature knocking, but it sounded a beat slower and not so sharp and cheery as it usually did.

"Come in." I did my best to sound calm and collected as the door slowly opened. Selene slid into the room silently, her feet seeming to drag on the floor, rather than her usual skippy tread. Her shoulders were slumped and her breathing was shaky, and she wasn't meeting my eyes. "S-selene?" I hesitantly said. A feeling of dread washed over me, "Are you...okay?"

"No." Her voice cracked as she spoke. "I'm not."

She looked up, tears in her eyes, trembling, "I-I didn't make it..."

* * *

Authoress (rubbing her eyes): Oh man, I'm tired. School doesn't start for about a week and, for some odd, unknown reason, I keep waking up at six o'clock.

Selene: Perhaps you're body is just preparing itself for school to start. I mean, you do always have to get up at five a of the m for that early morning class you take.

Authoress (pouting): Maybe. Doesn't mean I have to like it. I've been going to bed past ten most nights for the past couple weeks.

Selene (rolling her eyes): I know you like staying up and watching Netflix with your brothers, but girl, you need to sleep.

Authoress: I have not been watching Netflix before bed! That was a first-two-months-of-summer thing! I've just been up reading fanfiction lately…

Selene: Go to bed earlier. We both know how precious sleep is.

Authoress: Yeah, that's why I don't actually get out of bed until about nine.

Selene: So? Early to bed, early…

Authoress: Early to rise. Yada yada yada I know already! Leave me alone!

Selene: Well someone's on one.

Authoress: Well no duh, smart one!

Selene (sighing): Do you need sweets?

Authoress (slumps dejectedly): Maybe…

Selene: Hold on. I'll be back in a bit…

Authoress: Thank you...you're definitely one of my favorite characters that I've created for a reason...


	53. Chapter 41

School Starts for me tomorrow! Therefore, I decided to be awesome and post this a week early. You can say I'm super pumped! I've got some awesome classes I'm taking this year, and I'm also officially an high school upperclassmen! I'm a _senpai_ guys!

On another note, this means that I'll, ironically, have a lot more time to work on my fanfiction and original stories! I haven't typed that much, of anything, in the past month because, well, I was grounded for a few weeks and then I got busy with things and whatnot. But this is hopefully going to change! Well, by more typing I mean I'll have time at school at the end of class and during lunch and stuff. My journalism class also makes for a good hour to use for this half the time, so yeah.

I realized that I should probably respond to some of the comments!

Kkadijak: Well, it's more like the guys from Ouran High School Host Club, but yeah, I plan on her breaking the fourth wall a lot. It's completely something she likes to do. ;)

Guest: I'm really sorry about the wait between chapters. I do it so I can stay on a regular posting schedule. If I posted more often I'd run out of pre-written chapters because I have currently have two other stories I'm working on for the Elemental universe, and I can't continue from where I am in Elemental until those are caught up and/or done. But maybe this chapter, being posted a week early, makes up for it. And thank you, I really work hard on this. It's my baby, practically. As for what inspires me, a lot of things that happen or that are said come from my life. I've got a bunch of really random friends, to be honest, who work quite well as idea fodder. My writing is also influenced by other stories I read/write and by things I do and see. And feel free, if you really want to communicate. I love talking to my readers. Heck, I've gained to really awesome penpals from people who read my story, and from stories of theirs I've read. Enjoy your own week! :)

Guest/Kkadijak: I didn't actually understand that was a paraody of an actual song until one of my friends pointed it out, and then had me listen to the Pentatonix version. It was a good song, and I'm flattered that you used it in the review, especially since I make a lot of song references in this story! But read on, and some fears of your may be soothed...

Now, on to the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 41

Klaus' POV

"I-I didn't make it." Even her voice trembled as she said it. She turned away, clearly not wanting to face me. She brought her hands up to her face as her trembling became shaking.

I was having problems processing her words. She...she...she didn't...make it. She…h-h-how could she..not...not...

I stood up abruptly and walked over to her. I reached out a hand, hesitated, and then placed it on her shoulder. "Selene…"

"Pfft." Huh?

"Ahahahahahahahahaha!" She started laughing wildly, clutching her stomach, "I can't do it any more! I can't! I can't!"

Selene's POV

I turned to see the utterly baffled Klaus, taken aback and completely confused. His expression only makes me laugh harder, and makes me have to sit down on the nearest object-the stool I've claimed as mine, by the way-and lean back against the wall, clutching sides that were starting to cramp from the sheer force of my laughter. I couldn't stop the giggles-I was to far into the fit!

"Selene…" Klaus' tone was sickly sweet, a tone that would've scared most people, "Do you _want_ to be punished?"

"No!" I shreed, doing my best to quell my laughs, "I'm sorry, I really am"-No, no I wasn't. At all. But why would I _admit_ that to an irritated Klaus?-"but I couldn't help it!" I defended myself, "I mean, how often do I manage to pull one over on you? Hardly at all. You could at least let me enjoy myself...plus, you're not the only one who I'm planning to pull this on." I batted my eyelashes and morphed my face to one of total(ly faked) repentance, "Forgive me?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Admit that for once I totally fooled you!" I gave him a cheeky grin, "Now, how'd you like to see me play the same prank on my classmates?"

…. …. ….

The next few days were done in a flash. I fooled my entire class-especially Elias and Yukiya (Luca _said_ he was only acting his shock to help me fool the others, but I have my doubts about that claim) with the "I didn't make it" gag. It was the funniest thing, far funnier than when I had done it to Klaus.

As it turned out in our magical sweets unit, Yukiya is a cooking genius. Here's what happened that class last Monday:

Elias had been freaking out, trying to make sure everything was perfect. "You have to have exact measurements, Luca! It won't work otherwise!"

Luca just kept teasing him (can you really blame him when Elias is so easy?), "Perfection isn't everything, Prince Elias." For some reason, Luca called him that to annoy Eli, which, as it turned out, Eli hates it when he does that.

"What nonsense are you spouting this time!?" Elias snapped. "And I've told you not to call me that!" Professor Merkulova looked our way, to the source of noise, and I sighed.

I went up to Elias and put my hand over his mouth as he went to scold Luca. When he stopped trying to speak and turned red (I shot a warning glare at Luca when he started to laugh), I put my hands on his shoulders and spoke, "Eli, dear, cooking and baking isn't always an exact art. The amounts in the recipies are only approximate because there are so many variables that come into play. Things like humidity levels, the oven you're using, the sheer amount you're making. The best cooks use the recipe as a guideline, and use the sense of amount they've developed to decide how much of something to use. Does this make sense?"

He nodded sullenly.

"See Yukiya? He's using that sense. Although his seems to be way more developed than a normal teenage boy's, for some reason." It's true, while I had been calming Eli down, Yukiya had gone ahead and started. He didn't even need to using measuring tools, he was that good-I still needed measuring tools for all but the smallest amounts. "Now, Eli, why don't you let Yukiya and I handle things? We'll, well, I'll assign you and Lukey over there jobs."

"Huh? I'm fine just being the overseer."

"You're not exec. chief, bud. I am. And I'm working. So you will do the jobs I assign you, and do them properly, or you will _not_ eat the product. Those who will not work shall not eat, capeesh?"

"Yes mother." He sighed. I nodded approvingly. Elias also looked a little mollified that I had gotten on Luca's case, too.

"Now, let's get to work-because of the two of you, we're behind!" I clapped my hands, knocking off a small puff of flour I'd been sprinkling on the counter off of them (Eli may or may not have had white specs around his mouth…oops).

And so, between Yukiya's measuring and mixing, my organizing, prepping, and putting things together, and the help of Elias and Luca (who did the magic work), our creation received the highest grade in the class (which satisfied Elias, thank goodness, to the point where he no longer argued our methods) every day.

Yup. Apparently Yukiya had the position of what I like to call "kitchenmaster" back home, because he'd do most of the cooking to help out his mother, who had to care for his six younger siblings. I can understand that-I had to do a good chunk of the cooking for a good chunk of my life because most of my brothers can only do the basics, if they can do anything at all. At least I didn't have to do the dishes-my brothers rotated that job amongst themselves. That's all they were good for (I'm joking).

Friday was a pretty easy day for me, to be honest. I had already performed my exam grade for Professor G's class, meaning I had the hour to relax (I went to looking through another book to try and figure out if there were any other cases of magic like mine), the test for History was surprisingly easy, as well was the examination from Professor Schuyler. That one was nowhere near so difficult and draining as the one Klaus put me through early on (perhaps because I was stronger than I was then?), though the professor said that I'd probably be called out some point in the future for a more thorough testing by one of the academy's testers for students with magical abnormalities. Apparently, there's a few special classes for students with certain special magical abilities, and if they deem you worthy, you're transferred to that class the next semester.

Oh! And I made magical macarons that made your hair turn the color of the cookie you choose to eat (it's a variation of the spell I used on Klaus' eyebrows) as my exam project for Professor Merkulova's class. I got full points for creativity and difficulty of the dessert (macarons aren't the easiest things to make, trust me. Baked goods in general are picky, and macarons are one of the more fussy sweets. Good if you do it right. Bad if you mess up even a little). That took up the allotted exam time, so the class got to eat them towards the end of the hour as soon once everyone had turned their tests in. It was fun-I even managed to convince Elias to eat a blue (blueberry) one (he's so blond that it turned sky blue and awesome) after I told him that the effects only lasted a few hours. Yukiya had a yellow (vanilla) one and turned as blond as Elias normally was. Luca had pink (strawberry). It was awesome. I myself ate white chocolate one and had my hair turn pure white. I resolved to get Klaus to eat one, and saved him a green (green tea-I got really creative with my flavors) one. I didn't tell him about the magical effect until he already ate it though...tehe. I'm so naughty, aren't I? That poor buddy of mine sure has to put up with a lot, doesn't he? Hehe. (He wasn't so irritated this time so much as mildly impressed-apparently it's far from basic to put such a spell in a food. He even said another "good job"! :).

I didn't really stay after school on Friday for special training because Amelia told me she needed my help with something. Klaus let me go with the promise I'd practice the spells he'd taught me yesterday-because even though I passed my trial, I still was subjected to special training for the reason of keeping my grades up. I'm not complaining, mind, mostly because he's actually really good at teaching...teaching! That's right! Since I passed my trial, Klaus gets to be a teacher next year! I completely forgot about that! Yay! Yay! I wonder if he remembered, because he didn't mention anything; but then again, this is Klaus we're talking about. He probably acknowledged it and moved on, accepting it as a matter of course. I'll have to do something special to congratulate him at some point, since it's really the result of his training that I made it into the school in the first place. I'll save that for sometime this weekend. Right now, I should probably focus on whatever it is Amelia needs help with.

Klaus' POV

After Selene left I sighed. That girl is nothing but trouble. Why did I ever fall in love with someone like that? Then again, this particular brand of trouble isn't all that bad at times.

A memory came back to me. It was from one of my birthday, which happened to be at the same time as the annual charity ball, meaning there was a full-out ball, which was at my grandfather's estate, every year on my birthday. They were always tiresome, with my having to greet everyone and make small talk all evening. Percival, my oldest brother (about four years older than I), was much better with it than I was-he genuinely enjoyed learning about people. He didn't mind that he had to stay the entire time, being the eldest. And since it was my birthday, I couldn't leave this particular ball early. Elias, on the other hand, gets to greet family members and close family friends, and then goes unnoticed because he makes himself seem shy so people will leave him be. He readily takes advantage of that (very few know just how well Elias can act when he wants to) and slips away as soon as he can to go study or read or sleep or whatever it is he does, the lucky boy. I've come to dread that ball.

But this particular memory was one of the few times I managed to slip away early. I had made it to the north balcony of the ballroom and was planning on using magic to levitate myself down to the ground so I could make a seamless escape. Only, as I was making my way to the far right, I heard the door to the balcony slide open. Not panicking, I slid quietly into one of the little alcoves along the wall. There were several of these, all with benches, that I had always suspected were for couples to get away for a while to, seeing as how they were all enchanted to hide someone sitting there from the view of others.

I peeked over and saw two girls in almost-gaudy ballgowns, both about a year younger than I at the time, so fifteen, and wearing too much makeup, like most girls their age seemed to.

"Ah…" one sighed, "It was getting a little too warm in there, don't you agree?" Said girl 1.

"Completely. To many guys, and very few of them handsome enough for us." Girl 2, who sounded familiar said, making both giggle. And making me roll my eyes. Airbrains. There were far too many of them at these events, sadly.

"Oh, I wish that there was someone to fall in love with...I'm liking that Bardaisan boy. He's pretty cute, and nice too, from a good family." Girl 1 said dreamily.

"Eh, you can have him. I've got my eyes set far higher." The second girl, whose tone was haughty, sounded really familiar. "You could say he's the _gold_ en boy."

My eyes widened as I realized just how lucky I was that the alcove existed-I'd dodged a jinx with this one. The girl was Darla Griffiths, the daughter of one of my father's closest friends, Sir Eugene Griffiths. The girl acted like she should be treated like a royal, and her parents gave her whatever she wished. She was selfish, shallow, and petty. (Selene probably would've singed her eyebrows off within ten minutes of meeting her just to be spiteful. The two of them would most likely be bitter enemies, because Selene couldn't stand such girls. To put the two of them together would be asking for Selene to murder the girl. Note to self: don't let Selene ever be alone with Darla...wait, that might be an interesting test of Selene's patience...I'm off topic, aren't I? This is an example of how close she always is to my thoughts. Should I be troubled by that?)

She was also in love with me, no matter how much I tried to keep her away from me.

The other girl gasped at her words, "You mean on of the Goldsteins?"

"Not _one_ of the Goldsteins. A specific one."

"Percival? He's so kind." Wow. Whoever this girl was, she seemed to be particularly stupid.

"No, stupid. He's announcing his engagement to that Elaine girl tonight." Darla scoffed. "I mean _Klaus_." The way she purred my name sent disgusted shivers down my spine, "The perfect one."

"The two of you would be the perfect couple!" The other one squealed, "Him with his handsome, genius charm and flawless magical talents and very promising future, not to mention the connections and wealth of his family, and you, with your perfect beauty and wealth and power...you two are the ideal couple of perfection!"

" _Exactly_." Darla sounded very smug. Blech.

"But how are you going to get him? He's constantly expressing the fact that he doesn't want a girlfriend and only wants to focus on school and such."

"Oh, I'm sure our parents can arrange it. If I wait a year or two, and confess my love of my dearest to my father, I'm sure he'll do anything in his power to get me what I want. He _always_ does. As for his interest being solely in school, once he's done with it and has the job in the Ministry of Magic, where I'm sure he'll rise to the top quite quickly, his family will insist that he marry. That's where I come in. We're perfect for each other." She said with a lofty air. "Besides, how could he _not_ fall for someone as perfect as I?"

I'm brought back to the present as I smirk. I'd love to see her face if she found out what my type really is-certainly not a spoiled rotten silver spoon like her, but more of an steel fork of a sort. That'd give her the most entertaining reality shock. And get her off my back, hopefully. She never leaves me alone when she's around. It's very annoying.

I shake my head, focusing on the matter at hand. I've got something to do. That Ravenswood girl contacted me the other day to ask for my assistance with a plan she has. Because of the subject of this particular idea, I'm willing to help.

I got up from my office desk and headed towards the door.

Selene's POV

I hefted my my backpack higher on my shoulder and rolled my neck, feeling it pop. I really shouldn't carry so many books around-most of them aren't even for classes (instead, they're free-read books I picked up from the library). I could probably leave a few of them behind on my nightstand. I'll probably do that. Then again, I'll probably finish most of them this weekend.

Reaching the door, I reach into the front pocket of the little jacket-overshirt thing of the uniform and pull out my room key. Sliding it into the lock, I twist the handle and push the door open. I walked in sideways, shutting it behind me. "Amelia? You here?" I turn around and see that not only is Amelia in the room, but that Isa is sitting in the desk chair and on my bed is… "Sarah? What're you doing here?"

The ever-fancily made-up, pregnant wife of Matthew grins at me from where she's plopped on my bed, "Hey Lena!'

* * *

Authoress: So, how'd you all like the twist at the end of last chapter, the one that turned out as a prank? Did I scare anyone?

Selene (laughing as she re-reads the beginning): I can't express just how much fun that was to pull…

Aurora: It's one of her favorite stories to retell at family get-togethers.

Authoress: Fun Fact-That particular scene, where Selene pretended not to get accepted, was an idea that I had long before I started really working on this series. Heck, it was back when I was planning it in my head, back when it was going to have nothing to do with Elementals and was going to be a simple school story. A story born of my love of Klaus. Now, I'm spread pretty equally between all the characters. I love them all. Even Azusa (mostly because I have a fascination with psychological disorders). I haven't read Cerim's story yet, but I'm sure I'll love him, too.

Aurora: Wow. You really do like everyone from the original game. Azusa isn't even ever going to be in the story.

Authoress: As much as I'd like to bring him in, I won't be able to fit him in with the plans I've got. I do have an idea for a separate story involving him, but that won't really get worked on until I catch up to where I should be with both Elemental and my Scene's of a Wizardess' Heart-the latter needing a lot of shorts written and posted.

Aurora (her mother still laughing her heart out in the background): Speaking of which, for any of you who read the one-shot collection, Authoress still could use a lot of ideas so she can give each of her beloved boys a fair chance at having the same number of stories. So leave a review or pm her if you have a one-shot idea for that.

Authoress: Just remember that it and Elemental are different things, but any idea will be appreciated! Thanks! I know you guys won't let me down because you're all the awesomest readers ever! And yes, awesomest is a word because Selene says it is! ;)


	54. Chapter 42

Okay, so...school's being going well. I've adjusted to my classes wonderfully. I haven't had to stay up all night on homework thus far, so that's a plus. But I also haven't been able to work on fanfic so much, or personal stories, for that matter. I've been confined to weekends and bits and pieces throughout the day while in class. But, I have managed to finish Chapter 3 of Elias' story-which I will start posting when we hit Chapter 47 of this story. Sadly, until I finish Elias' main part of his story, I won't be able to post past Ch 47. Hopefully I can finish his, but the chapters take time since I've got to match a lot of the dialogue with his actual route-which is pretty much his route in the game, but from his POV and with the addition of Selene and all that entails (but, I will tell you this: Selene is not directly in Elias' story, as she will not be at the academy during that time, and nor will Klaus. They will be elsewhere. But I refuse to say more than that because that time is a key turning point in Elemental and actually really important.).

But moving on! Elemental has over 100 reviews! Which is spectacular and amazing! I want to thank you guys for all the wonderful support, because, honestly, this story would never probably made it past like chapter 10.

And, this chapter is a fun one, too! It also contains a part that hints slightly as to what's to come! We also get to see how two of Selene's brothers react to Klaus! Enjoy!

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Updated: October 13, 2016

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Chapter 42

"Explain." I sighed, putting my bag by the desk. "Please."

"Sure thing!" Isa said, grinning and looking proud of herself, "She's here because I asked her to be. The four of us are getting dolled up and going into town."

"...What?!"

"It's because you got accepted, it's sort of a welcoming party. Sarah's going to dress us all up and we're going into town!" Isa looked downright pleased with herself. "There's also a few more surprises!"

I sighed, "Let's just get this over with. Three rules:" I raised a hand and silenced Sarah's oncoming protests, "No skirts. Nothing that is to short, tight, or low. No heavy makeup. Understood?" Sarah nodded, to the laughs of Isa and Amelia. "Good. People are more modest here in Myula, and I don't like what's worn in Terra by most teen girls anyway. Besides, as a _responsible_ adult you shouldn't encourage me to dress like a streetwalker." This caused all of them to laugh-I just shook my head, though I was smiling.

Cadeyrn's POV

(Note: in this, myulan speech looks like _this_ , like english normally is. Just bear with it, and remember that for this part alone, it's myulan and not english.)

I smile as I watch Selene struggle to sit still as one of her many sister's attempts to put makeup on her face. It's at times like this that she reminds me of my mother, who, when she was alive, would have rather been running around outside then sit bored in court all the time. But Selene is trying, for her sister's sake. It's at times like this when that incessant nagging worry I feel in my head seems to be foolish. How could her seal break when she's so happy?

I hear a knock on the workroom door and quickly throw the cover that hides my scrying mirror on it, before walking quietly to a different part of the room. The door opens as I reach the bellows. " **Yes? Who is it?** " I call.

The king's great-nephew, Garrick, arrived a week ago. Since then, I've had to be extremely wary when using my mirror. Never had the dark-blue haired and grey-blue eyed princeling come so close as he had now.

" **Sir, the king summons you. His son is fatally wounded, and wants you to take care of my young cousin.** " Garrick bowed, looking worried. I froze. The crown prince was injured?

" **What happened?** "

" **Hunting accident, sir. His horse stumbled a jump. He's alive, but barely. The water healers have already been notified and are on their way.** "

If the crown prince was injured, that means that the next in line needed to be protected-the young grandson of Faelan. I nodded stiffly and grabbed a few things, hurrying towards the door.

Third Person POV (still in Caderyn's workshop)

In his panicked hurry, Cadeyrn left Garrick in the workshop, and even forgot to lock the door. Garrick decided to take advantage of that. For the week he'd been here, Cadeyrn had been hiding something. It was why Garrick wanted to "study" under him in the first place. Garrick's information networks were expansive and accurate. He had a better one than any of the spymasters in the different kingdoms in this world. Through one of those vines, Garrick had heard something interesting about the twice-royal man. Cadeyrn was the youngest son of the late youngest princess of the Wind Kingdom and current king of the Fire kingdom. Cadeyrn had four older brothers, two older sisters (all six from his father's first marriage), and three younger sisters (all three from his father's third marriage). Cadeyrn never expressed an interest in staying in the line of succession, swearing in blood never to try for the throne. That in itself would've been strange, without the additions of his mother's strange death and then Cadeyrn's disappearance soon after. From his sources he'd heard that the death of the prince's mother was what caused him to withdraw from royal life and become a crafter of magic tools, and it was what caused him to disappear for nearly a year before he was found by his oldest sister and forced to come back. Where Cadeyrn went, and what he did, was unknown to all but a few, and none of those few were Garrick's informants. But there were rumors that Cadeyrn was banned from leaving this world by the Paladin, the oldest, wisest, and most powerful of their kind, and one of the rare few gifted with the ability to use all four elements. That was unheard off, for someone to be banned from leaving this world-normally, their kind didn't need any prompting to stay away from the human worlds. Most considered humans to be inferior, a taint on the worlds they inhabited. The only thing Garrick had been able to find out was the fact that Cadeyrn had an unnatural fascination with the humans. And that there were blank spots in his information network where the man was involved.

So Garrick had decided to take a few chances and figure out the secret. If he could blackmail someone who was such a powerful tool maker into making weapons for his followers...the limits to his power would be so far in the distance most wouldn't be able to glimpse the barest hint of them. So, he was determined to find it out. Starting with that mirror Cadeyrn guarded so zealously. Cadeyrn hardly ever left his quarters, which consisted of three rooms-a small, simple bedroom, his large workshop, and another room for everything else that was rarely used-and the rare moments he did, Garrick was always locked out, and it was the same for after sunset and before sunrise. Everything from the locks on the doors to the windows, walls, and doors themselves were interwoven magic far beyond anything Garrick knew or could brake. Despite his quirks, Cadeyrn was a powerful magic-worker, as well were the few friends of his Garrick had found. It didn't help that Garrick couldn't leave a trail.

And while the crown prince of the Earth Kingdom was in such peril, Cadeyrn would be distracted taking care of the prince's son. Even better, the injury was a genuine accident, so there'd be no traces back to him. And the incident had made the man careless-Garrick was inside the workshop, alone and able to do all the searching he wanted.

Cadeyrn didn't know that Garrick knew about the mirror. It was cleverly hidden, but didn't have all the protective enchantments the room did, despite the cleverly woven cover that canceled the magic it radiated and concealed it from view. Garrick found it in one of those rare moments that Cadeyrn left for a minute or two, but wasn't able to take a close look at it. Until now.

Sliding the cover off-clearly, judging from the sloppiness in which it was covered, Cadeyrn had been using it-Garrick inspected the mirror. The backing was silver, the outer edge gilded in strands of woven metal, some sort of gold and bronze with the occasional little silver flowers woven into the design. Looking closer at those edges of the small circular mirror, which was no more than a foot in diameter, he noticed what was clearly words. They were in a tongue he didn't know. He pulled a paper from his pocket and copied over the letters the best he could. He had a friend in the royal library of the Water kingdom, one who knew most languages. It would be translated later. Stuffing the paper in his pocket, he turned back to the mirror on the wall. He tapped the center, and his reflection began to shift, changing into a picture of a girl who was turned away from his view, standing before her own mirror, tugging at a dark blonde lock of her hair, looking resigned. She was wearing a pair of tight pants and a flowing, shimmery red shirt, with slight makeup painted on her face. It was like he was looking into a moving picture. He heard giggles from the picture. Then they talked in a strange tongue he couldn't understand.

" _You look so pretty!_ " Said a girl he couldn't see. " _Practically a modern princess!_ "

" _Perhaps. But I can guarantee that these danged heels will be off my feet within ten minutes of getting there!_ " The blonde girl muttered something mutinously, causing several other girls not in the picture laugh at her grumbling. She turned around and Garrick froze. He'd never met the second wife of the King of Fire, but he'd seen enough pictures of the woman who'd been the king's favorite wife. If this girl's hair had been a paler blonde, if she wasn't tanned, and if she had been taller, she could've been the twin of the late queen. The same celestial nose, single dimple on the left, even those all-knowing silver-yet-oh-so-slightly-blue eyes were the same, delicate, almost elvin nose-in short, an unusual beauty, one that she seemed unaware of. That was a face that could've been the one in the royal painting hidden in the King of Fire's halls. She was perhaps about six or so years younger than himself. So this was the secret Cadeyrn had been hiding all this time. It was this girl. If she was what he now suspected, he'd stumbled on something better than he ever could've hoped-and perhaps he wouldn't need to force Cadeyrn to make him weapons. Mayhaps he'd found something greater than any weapon.

Selene's POV

After being thoroughly dressed up, I was then dragged out to town. I was laughing though, so, so hard from the way the other's were acting-all three of them were acting so "It _has_ to be PERFECT or else it'll all go to the sewers" that it made me laugh until I cried. There was a reason Sarah used waterproof mascara-if I'm laughing honestly and hard, I'll be crying just as hard. It's strange, but then again, so am I.

What I didn't expect was to be blindfolded and lead into the building in town that was rented out for parties and such. Why they felt that need when I already knew where I was seemed ridiculous to me. At this point, I was just going along with what they with their antics. I know too many strange people. Besides, why ruin their fun?

"Are we done yet? Or do I need to burn this thing off?" I whined. "'Cause it itches!"

"It's silk. Silk doesn't itch." Scoffed Sarah, getting defensive over her fabrics (again). In all honesty, it didn't itch. I just didn't like surprises that required depriving me of one of my senses. Sarah knew that. "Don't fuss, child, we're going to be there in seconds."

"Don't call me child." I deadpanned, "You stole it from me and you know it."

She laughed, "Well, silly dilly, we're here."

She tugged on one of the ends of the bow as I made my response, "Can't you find any of your own terms to use, ding-a-ling?"

Klaus' POV

A pregnant woman who I'm going to assume is one of Selene's sister's opens the door, leading someone (who I'm guessing is Selene) inside. I can't see anything but a bit of red flash from the corner where I'm standing as the person is turned around as she makes a remark. "Can't you find any of your own terms to use, ding-a-ling?" Yup. I'd recognize Selene's sass anywhere.

"Why? You've got plenty to spare." Replies the pregnant woman, clearly amused. "And…"-she turns around, taking Selene with her-"Surprise!" She cries. Her sentiment is echoed by the people standing around the room, surprises and congratulations all around. The bemused look on Selene's face told me that she didn't expect something of this size. Once word got out that there was going to be a welcome party for this particular fire child, all sorts of people showed up to help. How she met and befriended so many people, same age, older, and younger, in three week is baffling. She's a strange girl.

But I have to admit she looks beautiful, if not unusual. Most girls in this world dress very differently to begin with. A woman or girl who wears pants at all is unusual. The near-floating red shirt contrasts with her eyes, making the silver pop, especially with the light make-up. And, for the first time, her hair's curled-not tight ringlets, but looser, wavy curls. She looks like she's from a whole other world (which, in all actuality, she is).

The confusion soon leaves her expression and she starts laughing so hard she has to sit down (on the floor, might I add). People start laughing with her-they're contagious, her laughs. Eventually she calms down and gets off, thanking everyone for "being awesome."

People surround her and it's a while before I see her again. I stand off to the side, talking with Elias-and I notice his roommate is next to him. Both are unsure of what to do with themselves. Selene would find it funny, their lack of social skills. Of course, she finds lots of things to be funny. It's just who she is.

At one point, the door opens again, and a tall man with brown hair walks in. Selene notices him and shrieks, then runs to him, nearly knocking him over with a hug. "Jonny!" Ah, so that's who it is.

"Isn't that her oldest brother?" Elias asked, "Seeing as she's calling him Jonny and all?"

"It'd appear so, little brother. If I'm not mistaken, he's pretty much her father."

Elias moved a little closer before muttering something loud enough for only me to hear, "Then you might want to go up and say hello. If you ever want to actually date Selene, you might want to make sure her brother's like you."

I stiffen, "Don't be pert, brother." Though I'm already walking over there. What? Elias's words made sense, no use denying that.

Selene noticed my approach and grinned, grabbing her brother's hand and dragging him along. "Jonny, this is my buddy, Klaus. I told you about him, didn't I? Klaus, this is my oldest brother, Jonny boy."

Jonny is smiling, and holds out his hand, "It's nice to meet you Klaus. I have to say thank you for taking care of this kid here-she's quite the handful of handfuls."

I nod, shaking his hand, "Pleasure to meet you. I'm so sorry, you've had to handle her a good deal longer."

He laughed, reminding me a bit of someone, though I couldn't place who. "It's easier if you know the tricks to doing it-she's quite ticklish."

"Hey!" She cries, poking him in the side, "Don't tell him that-he'll actually use it against me! And I'm not that difficult! I _can_ take care of myself just fine, thank you!"

"That's a lie." The two of us say at the same time. We glance at each other and laugh.

"See? It must be true, 'Lena, if someone can see it in such a short time." He teased her and she stuck her tongue out at him, but was smiling right after.

"Klaus, kindly ignore the goofball who raised me, if you will."

Jonny pressed a hand to his heart, making a comically hurt face, "You wound me, sister."

She pressed her fingers to her lips and then smacked his chest, "There. All better. Now, are you and Sarah the only ones here? Or is there some person I just haven't seen yet?"

"He'll be here in a minute." Her brother sighed, "He got distracted at one of the shops."

"Hey! I made it!" Someone said indignantly. The siblings turned around, Selene grinning.

"Merlin! Ya' lazy lout, where've you been?" Selene demanded, laughing, "I'm guessing the tools shop in town."

"You're remarkably good at guessing, dear little sister of mine."

I couldn't think straight. This boy, Merlin, looked exactly like someone I used to know. _Exactly_. The only difference was the goofy grin. He ruffled Selene's hair, and she swatted his hand away, "It took Sarah _half an hour_ to get it this way and if you mess it up she'll be on my case like a lawyer!" Her brother's laughed again-this family loves to laugh, it seems.

"Anywho, Mer, this is Klaus, my buddy." She turned back to me, "Klaus? Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I shook my head, snapping out of the trance I'd been in, and held out my hand, "I'm fine. It's nice to meet you, Merlin. You're the brother that likes working with magic tools, are you not?"

He nodded, and we began conversing while Jonny told Selene he'd be right back.

Even though I seemed normal, something wouldn't leave me alone in my head. This boy I was talking with, Merlin, looked exactly like-even sounded exactly like-someone who was dead, or, for a more correct term, petrified. He looked exactly like Randy March.

* * *

Authoress: Dun dun dun!

Elias: And what was that about?

Authoress: Did you not pay attention to the last bit of the chapter?

Elias: Not really. I was finishing the essay due tomorrow for Potions.

Authoress: Oh Elias...you really need to get your priorities straight, my little tsundere.

Elias: Says the girl who types while the teacher is teaching.

Authoress: Don't be pert! I happen to have all As at the moment!

Elias: You've only had about fifteen assignments spread over six classes checked in.

Authoress: Well if I wasn't writing you wouldn't be here!

Elias: You're right. I'd be doing other, more important things. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get this book done.

Authoress: Fine then! Have fun with your book! I'm going to go work on your story, meanie! (*runs off*)

Elias: Did she say something? Eh, probably nothing important.


	55. Chapter 43

Yikes! I realized I made a mistake with Merlin, Selene's youngest older brother! He's a little less older than she is, so at this point he's seventeen (it's about late September at this time in the story, and his birthday is early March-he's in his third to last year at his school). Originally, I was going to have Merlin and Selene be twins, but then I changed the storyline and now they're half-siblings, with the same mother and different fathers. Oh, and I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier at some point, but Selene's birthday is, ironically, the Winter Solstice. Sorry for any resulting confusion!

And I'm not sure if I mentioned this at some point, but I do have a poll up. It's asking which of the characters from the first three Wizardess trilogies is your favorite one. So if you haven't voted yet, please do so! I'll have it up for probably a while longer, but please, feel free to go add your vote. :)

Oh, and I'm, yet again, looking for a new cover. I'm feeling like the current one, which seemed awesome at the time, now is just kind of weird. So if any of you, my wonderful readers, would like to help me out with that...well, you'd be upgraded from a wonderful reader to an amazing-and-super-duper-awesome-and-wonderfully-sweet reader! I'm kind of thinking of crossed wands-as in, Klaus' wand and Selene's wand-over the school emblem or something. Please, please, please let me know if any of you are interested in helping me out! Love you all regardless, though!

And have fun with the interactions between Selene's oldest and youngest older brother's and Selene's buddy! (as well as sister/brother interactions!)

* * *

Chapter 43

Selene's POV

Jonny left, saying he had to go grab something. I waved him off and went to go talk to my two non social friends who were standing awkwardly in the corner, poor boys. Well, Elias looked uncomfortable. Yukiya looked half asleep. Anyway, I'm taking pity on them and going over there.

"You two are not exactly party people, are you?"

Yukiya shrugged, but Elias sighed, "I'm not a fan. Usually, when my family has one, I slip away first chance I get."

I snorted in a most unladylike manner, "I can totally see you doing that, I really can."

"There's some worth in being the youngest, least talented and noticeable child." He said blandly.

"Aww, Eli," I leaned over and hugged him, "That's a lie. You're talented and noticeable. While the youngest part is true, the rest of it isn't."

"L-let go of me! I don't want to be mollycoddled by the likes of you!" He stuttered, trying to make it sound like a command.

I giggled and hugged him a little tighter, "But you're so adorwable!" I cooed.

"Selene!" He snapped.

I snickered and let him go, then ruffled his hair, "I'm just funning. The blushing thing you're doing though is pretty cute. I bet your mother just _dotes_ on you." The red in his cheeks spread to his ears and I gasped, "She does, doesn't she?!" The effect of the glare he shot me was ruined by the flushed face. I grinned, proud of myself. I'm such a weirdo. But I'm messing with him the same way I would with a little brother (and the way I do mess with some of my older ones), so there. "There's nothing wrong with that, Eli. Let your mother dote on you-there may come a day when she can't."

The redness receded a bit from his face, and he mumbled something. I decided not to push it. "So, Yuki-ya~...having fun?"

He shrugged, "As much as I could be. You look pretty, by the way."

Elias' POV

She laughed, "For all it took over an hour. Thank you, though. Glad _someone_ noticed a difference."

"Oh, I'm sure _Klaus_ noticed from the get-go." I muttered, a faint smirk gracing my lips. Yukiya glanced over at me, an amused twinkle in his eye. I don't doubt he heard me-my roommate has freaky good hearing. And sense of smell. And eyesight. For some reason that I don't know, the boy had super senses.

"What was that?" Selene asked, head tilted. She hadn't heard me.

"Oh, nothing. I was just agreeing with Yukiya. You don't look like such a boyish kid, at least."

"Hey!" She puffed up her cheeks, then pinched mine, "At least I'm not the little pretty boy with his own personal harem, unlike _some_ one here."

I smacked her hands away, glaring, "They are _not_ my harem! Stop saying that!"

She sniggered, "Oh, so what are they then?"

"Three completely obnoxious, annoying, bothersome people who happen to be in the same class!"

Klaus came over, Selene's brother behind him-a brother that actually looked really familiar, even with my never having seen him in my life. "What's happening over here?" Klaus inquired.

"Oh, nothing of all that importance, just the fact that your brother isn't owning up to his little personal harem." Selene was smirking a smirk that rivaled my brother. Those two are perfect for each other, aren't they? Both love teasing me, for some odd reason.

"Harem?" Klaus raised and eyebrow, "What's this about?"

"Oh, so you haven't met the flower sisters?" Selene raised an eyebrow. How she and my brother can do that confounds me-I've tried raising my eyebrow before, it doesn't work. Ahem. Onto the matter at hand. "They're these three sisters in our class, the ones who're all named after flowers?" Klaus nods, remembering them-I mean, he's subbed the class enough. "Well the three of them form what they call the ' _Official_ Elias Goldstein Fan Club!' and all three just _adore_ your little cinnamon roll of a brother." Cinnamon roll? What? She notices my confused face and giggled a bit before continuing. "I say it's his little personal harem. He denies it. Well, you deny, you apply. It's his little _ha-rem_! It fits-in certain cultures, princes or kings had personal harems, and think about how some call this little dude 'prince'." She nudges me as I glare at her, face flaming.

"Selene! Will you cut it out?!" I hissed at her. Now that my brother heard about this, I'll never live it down! Why can't those three sisters just leave me alone?!

"Why?" Her smirk becomes mischievous as she turns back to Klaus, who's looking far more amused than I've seen him in a long time. Curse her. A thousand curses on Selene. "Oh, you should see how they act. Oh, Prince Elias Goldstein-'cause for some reason they like to use your full name-looked in our direction! I'm so blessed! *Gasp* He scolded us, oh... _oh_! *swoon*" She puts her hand to her forehead and pretends to faint, collapsing into her brother's waiting arms. He supports her as she starts laughing hysterically, smiling and shaking his head, like it's nothing new. It's Selene. It probably isn't.

Klaus snorts, elbowing me, "This is news to me, brother. How come you haven't told me about this, hmm?"

"Because it's utter hogwash!" I cry, angry and irritated, "They're nothing more than some crazy sisters in my class who for goodness sakes won't leave me _be_!"

Selene takes a few deep breaths and stands up on her own, "Oh, Eli, I'm just teasing. Don't get so worked up." She sighs, "If it makes you that upset, though, I'll stop-for a while, anyway. I'll take that glare as a 'yes'."

"Sorry about her," her brother holds his palms up, "No one's really figured out how to install a mute button on her-trust me, I've literally tried. I'm Merlin, by the way." He holds out his hand to me. I shake it.

"I should be saying sorry to you. You've had to deal with her much longer."

Selene pouts, giving me a suddenly sullen look, "Two apples from the same branch of the same tree, alright."

"Huh?" I blink, confused.

"Klaus said nearly the same thing!" she whined, "I'm not that much of a handful!" She sticks her tongue out at us and turns around, grabbing Yukiya's wrist, "Now, if you'll excuse us, I'm going to take advantage of Yuki's nose and go find wherever it is they're hiding the food."

Klaus and I look at each other and pause for a moment, then start laughing. Merlin looks at the two of us, smiling and looking relieved.

"I'm so happy that she's made friends." He said, causing us to pay attention to him, "She's never _really_ left home before, so we were all worried she'd struggle with being thrust into a completely different way of life. But it seems she's going to do just fine." He smiles at us, "Thank you so much for taking care of my baby sister, and this thanks is from all of us big bros. I must excuse myself, I think Jon's gotten lost. His sense of direction is terrible. I'm going to go check on him. Thank you again." He waves and walks towards the door.

I look at my brother, "You know, since I saw him, he'd reminded me of someone. I couldn't place who at first, but now I think I know. He looks, and sounds, just like your friend Randy did."

"I know. It's messing with my head." Klaus admitted, "But it's not possible. Not at all. But he does. Everything about him screams 'Randy' and I'm not sure what to do about it." Hearing Klaus admit he doesn't know what to do frightens me, because Klaus always knows what to do.

Selene's POV

We found a table laden with foodstuffs. I didn't really need Yukiya to find it, but I knew he was hungry too, because he kept eyeing it. He was just too awkward to slide off and go do it. "Well," I said, casting him a sidelong glance, "Let's eat." We both piled plates high with food and sat at a table to the side, eating. At some point, someone had set up a Terran music player (this was most likely Mer's work, since Jonny had mentioned they were here earlier today) and it was currently playing "Runaway Baby" by Bruno Mars. Fun song. More focused on food-I hadn't had dinner yet, and we all know how I feel about dinner, don't we, readers?

And if I was being honest, I was kind of glad to be out of the limelight. People all around the large room were talking, and enjoying themselves. I saw Mer say goodbye to the Goldstein brothers and head out of the room. Perhaps he's going to look for Johnathan. There's a reason Cynthia's the navigator and Jonny's the driver. That man has an awful sense of direction.

I myself was talking to Yukiya, asking him how his exams went and trying to wheedle more than one- to two-word answers out of him. I was actually making some progress when someone slid into the seat next to me (on the left) a Yukiya stopped talking and slid away a bit (he was on my right). I turned to face the newcomer, Zave, "I was actually getting him to answer!" I whined, pouting, "Spoiler." Yukiya, plate emptied, murmured a goodbye and left. "And look! Now you've scared him off!"

"Aw, come on, I'm not that scary, am I?" Zave laughed.

"Don't bet on it. I'm pretty sure you're the scariest thing here, bud." I replied with laughs of my own. "On another note, I haven't seen you since lunch. How was your afternoon?"

"Dull. Tests stink. All my fun ones were in the morning, all the paper ones after lunch."

"Oh poor baby. Suck it up-they're over now."

"Exactly." He poked my side and I squealped (squealed/yelped, okay, that turned out weirder than I thought it would...).

"Owie! Bully! I'm being bullied!" I shreed.

"Oh, suck it up."

"Don't turn my words against me!"

"I can and I will."

"Jerkface!"

" _At least I didn't make a magic amulet so I could throw fire at people without getting in trouble_."

" _Fight me!_ " I hold up fists and throw a few weak punches onto his arm.

At that we both dissolve into laughs. " _We've got problems._ " We say in accidental unison, then laugh harder.

Klaus' POV

I can't help but watch that boy, Moonwalker, interact with Selene. She rejected him, yet they still act like best of friends, especially him. They look like they're about to start yelling at each other, and they were clearly bickering. Selene weakly punches his arm a few times and they both burst out into laughter, then say something at the same time, pause, and then start laughing harder. That irritates me. He gets along with her better than I do half the time. He probably doesn't make half of what he says sound insulting, or not know how to cope with how random she can be is. I sigh. My irritation is more with myself. I lift the drink in my hand-it's some sort of fizzy purple drink from Terra that Elias handed me at some point-to my mouth.

"Klaus, was it?" I turn to see Selene's brother, Merlin-the one that looks so much like Randy-standing there, holding some sort of black metal box with to mesh circles on the front under one arm. He's got an eyebrow raised, "So, are you going to ask her out at some point?"

I choke on the drink, pulling it away, coughing. I give him a look, like he's crazy, "Excuse me?"

He's grinning, "Don't even try to deny it. You like her, don't you? As in _like_ -like her. I've seen each of my six older brothers do the same things you're doing."

I shook my head, "I'm not sure what you're referring to. She's merely my buddy."

"I'm not so easy to fool with such excuses. I can clearly see the way you look at her, the way you watch her when you think no one's looking. You're in love, aren't you? Don't worry, you're fairly good at hiding it. I've just seen this sort of thing happen so many times it's easy to me-it's part of being from a big family. My advice, go for it. In case you haven't noticed, she's a _bit_ of an idiot when it comes to such things, though sun only knows how perceptive she can get with most everything else. You'll have to be blunt to get her attention. Oh, and don't worry about that Zave kid. From what I've heard from Cynthia-Jonny's wife-she's clearly 'friendzoned' him. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go set up the karaoke speaker thing." He nodded to me and headed off. Is everyone in Selene's family that way? Seeming like they're a different age than they actually are? It's hard to believe that he's only seventeen. It's also hard to believe that Johnathan's in his early thirties-he looks nowhere near that old. But seeing as it's Selene's family, I shouldn't be surprised.

It's what Merlin said that's really making me think. He's encouraging me to ask out his little sister. If he's that way, would the rest of her brothers be also? The oldest one seemed to like me, as well as that one sister of hers. Merlin thinks I have a chance...do I really?

If he says I do, I'll believe him-he's given me no reason not to. But I think I'll wait for another time, one less...viewed. There's still a chance I'll be rejected, and I'd rather not have people watching. I've got all the time in the world-she's my buddy, and she was fully accepted into the academy. Perhaps I'll try and subtle woo her before I confess. He said she was ignorant of such things, but I think I can pull it off as long as I go about it the right way.

Yeah. I can do this. Hopefully.

* * *

Authoress: ...

Selene: Hello?

Authoress: …

Selene: Authoress!

Authoress (jerking into awareness): Y-yes?

Selene: Working on something?

Authoress: Yes. I'm almost done with Chapter 11 Part 1 of Taming a Wizardess' (Heart). I'm confident it'll be done by the time I have to post Chapter 47 of Elemental.

Selene: Wow. Weren't you on chapter seven or something a week ago?

Authoress: About, yes. I'm pretty sure I'll be done with this chapter today.

Selene: And, after Eli's story is done, you still won't be able to work on Elemental, will you?

Authoress: Not directly, no. I've still got a few chapters of Cursed Wizardess (Heart) (Philyra x Yukiya) to write before I can continue with Elemental, because a large chunk of Cursed and Elemental happen at the same time. I've really got to figure out what I'm doing with Cursed next. I've got Elemental mostly planned out for several arcs, but I need to see how Cursed fits into the next few. It'll be interesting, that's for sure.

Selene: Well, the readers have a fun time coming in a month or so...uh, let me see...about eight weeks from now is when Elemental time and Taming time happen simultaneously. Maybe earlier. It depends on Authoress' schedule with school and whatnot. But eight weeks at the latest!

Authoress: At the latest. Promise. Now, I'm going to post this and then actually pay attention to Honors English 11 (not really but I'll make more of an effort to look like I am while I'm really writing...haha…)


	56. Chapter 44

Hey! How are y'all? Enjoying the party? Well, here's the next part!

Sorry. There's an author's note first! XD

Okay, so we're nearing the start of Taming a Wizardess Heart! In two more updates (after this one) of Elemental, Taming will begin to be posted! I'm currently on Chapter 12 (Day 11-3) and so I'll most likely be done by the time I post the prologue to it. Look forward to it!

Oh, and I've gone through all my chapters up to this point (and all my prewritten ones) and _finally_ fixed all the Geolunes to Gedonlune! It's all fixed! Go me!

* * *

Chapter 44

I was chatting pleasantly with Zave. It was so easy to talk to him, he was practically like one of my brothers. He took the whole rejection thing really well, and acted like the whole ordeal had never even existed. I was grateful for that, because he was a good friend and I'd rather not lose him, thank you.

I noticed Merlin walking up towards where the speakers and such were set up, and that he was carrying another one. He puts it down, does a few things with wires, and then heads over to me. "Mer," I say, "This is Zave, a friend of mine. He's originally from Terra too." Mer sits on my other side, reaching his hand across me to offer it to Zave.

" _Oh, so he speaks English, then? Or does he speak Spanish or French or something?_ " Mer asks, shaking Zaves hand. "Nice to meet you."

" _It's a pleasure to meet you, as well. Selene's said a many great things about all of her brothers. You're the youngest of the older brothers, aren't you?_ And I lived in Ohio." Zave adds with a laugh, "French and Spanish are mysteries to me."

"Ah, so he does. Yes, that'd be me. I'm the 'Terratech linker' as Lena here likes to refer to me as." Merlin laughed, nudging me. I stick my tongue out at him and poke his cheek. He rolls his eyes but he's smiling. "It's nice to know that there are so many people here who are capable of keeping an eye on this lil' troublemaker. Sun knows her family has a hard enough time managing her." I elbowed him at that, and he winced.

"Keep it up and I'll singe off your eyebrows, kid."

He scoffed, "You wouldn't dare. Jonny said he'd have your hide if you did that again."

"Well you know what I say about that…?" I pinched his cheeks and pulled like they do in anime, then started laughing because he looked so ridiculous, but then his hands darted up and did the same things to my cheeks, both of us trying (and failing) to stare each other down. Zave was laughing at both of us.

"You two are definitely brother and sister. You bring out the child in the other." Zave stated.

"Yuhp!" I said, trying to speak understandably with my current state of face.

"Again, you two?" Someone sighed, "I thought that school would of made you both grow up a little. I see I was wrong."

"Hey Chonny!" I (attempted to) chirp.

"If you two feel like calling a truce, I've got something for you, 'Lesty."

I drop my hands from my youngest older brother's face and push his own away from mine, squealing, "Blythe!" My shriek attracted a lot a views as I lunged forward and snatched the case from Jonny, setting it down on the table and unlatching it. Inside was a beautiful black acoustic guitar with mother of pearl inlays creating a design of swirling flowered vines that wove around it in just the right amount. I pulled it out and cradled it, cooing as I sat back down in my chair and began to tune it, "Oh, my poor baby, you're so flat! Don't worry, I'll fix you right up, darlin'!"

"I'm guessing that's Blythe, then." Zave whispered to Merlin, who nodded.

"Our brother Matthew made it for her for her fourteenth birthday, the inlays being designed by Cynthia. Selene adores it. The only reason she didn't bring it to the academy was in case she didn't make it in. Jonny, good brother that he is, thought to bring it. I wouldn't have remembered." Merlin whispered back as Jonny went to go say something to Sarah.

With Blythe now in tune, I strum a few cords. "Hey Zave."

"Yeah?"

"Remember when you asked me if I played? Here's my proof! I'm going to sing and play because I feel like it!" I was giddy. I missed my instrument. It's been almost a month since I've been able to play the poor thing. After dragging my chair away from the table a bit, I strummed the first few notes of the first song that came to my head. I hummed along until the right time to start singing.

" _He-ey bro-ther! There's an endless road to re-discover._

 _He-ey sis-ter! I know the water's sweet, but blood is thick-er._

 _Oh, if the sky comes fal-ling do-own, for yooou,_

 _there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do~_

 _He-ey bro-ther! Do you still believe in one a-nother?_

 _He-ey sis-ter! Do you still believe in love, I won-der?_

 _Oh, if the sky comes fall-ing down, for yooou,_

 _There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do~_

 _What if I'm far from home?_

 _Oh bro-ther, I will hear you call!_

 _What if I lose it all?_

 _Oh sis-ter, I will help you oout!_

 _Oh, if the sky comes fal-ling down, for yooou,_

 _there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do~_

 _(_ guitar rift! _)_

 _He-ey brother! There's an endless road to re-discover._

 _He-ey sister! Do you still believe in love, I won-der?_

 _Oh, if the sky comes fal-ling down, for yooou,_

 _there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do~_

 _What if I'm far from home?_

 _Oh bro-ther, I will hear you call!_

 _What if I lose it all?_

 _Oh sis-ter, I will help you oout!_

 _Oh, if the sky comes fal-ling down, for yooou,_

 _there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do~!_ "*

(guitar rift!)

Klaus' POV

I was talking with Elias again when I heard some sort of instrument being strummed. I looked behind me to see Selene fiddling with the tuning pegs on a black guitar with light swirling designs decorating it.

"Oh yeah, she did mention at some point that she plays guitar, among other things." Elias comments, "I wonder how good she is."

She lights up as she gets it in tune. After saying something to her brother and Moonwalker, who were at the table with her, she pulls the chair away from the table into a little more open space. With easy movements, she begins strumming and humming. Clearly she knows what she's doing. From watching Elias as he learned the violin, I know that it takes a good deal of practice to look that at ease with an instrument. Heaven knows I never had the patience for it. Surprisingly, though, Elias did really well. His music had the creative element that his magic lacked. Then it hit me. I can't believe I didn't think of it before-use music metaphors to help him understand how to be creative with his magic! Then I'm reminded that I don't know much of anything about music...right. Perhaps Selene would be willing to help me with that. She clearly seems to have taken an interesting in helping Elias with his magic, if last Saturday is anything to go by.

She starts singing a song, in English, of course, and I can understand most of the words by this point. She's got an extraordinary voice. The song seems to be about the narrator swearing that they'll do anything to help their brother and sister, that there's nothing they won't do to help them. It's a different kind of song than what we have here. Selene says they've got more genre's of music than grains of sand on a beach in Terra, and that new combinations and kinds are always seeming to be created all the time. We've got a bit less than that in this world. Selene said that she'll _usually_ stick to somethings called "pop" and "country" and instrumental.

As she ends the song, people start clapping and she's grinning, clearly having fun. "Another!" someone shouts. She nods and begins playing some chords,

" _Let's make this fleeting moment last forever_

 _So, tell me what you're waiting for?_

 _I'm gonna keep it frozen here forever,_

 _There's no regretting anymore.~..._ "

She goes on and plays another song. She really knows how to perform, and people are really enjoying it. She never ceases to amaze me.

"She's really, really good at this, isn't she?" Elias sighs, "I could never play in front of so many people." He never had played before anyone but our family. He's too shy to do much more.

I notice something, "Since when did she become barefoot?"

Elias looks at her feet and barks a laugh, "Who knows?"

"She probably ditched them a few minutes after coming in. They were heels." The brother's turned to see Jonny, who looked amused, "There's a very good reason why Sarah puts a summoning spell on every pair of shoes she lends Selene. Elsewise she'd've lost a fortune in footwear by now."

"That sounds like Selene, all right." My brother smiles and rolls his eyes.

Jonny nodded in agreement, "She's a strange child, no doubt about that."

I stifle a laugh, "I actually think the same thing. All the time."

"You're the buddy who's stuck with her. Good luck with that." He says slyly, "It's nice to have someone else manage her for a while. Have fun."

"Eh, she's not so bad when she stops sassing." I reply arily, "Only, she and sass seem inseparable, most of the time."

"The struggle is real." He sighs, jokingly. Elias and I each give him a quizzical look, and he explains with a shrug, "It's a Terran thing. I'm not even sure when it became a thing, either. It just sort of happened. Anyway, thanks for taking such good care of lil' 'Lesty. And Klaus, go for it. You've got my permission." he winks and walks of, leaving me startled.

"What's he mean by that? Permission for what?" Elias asks me.

"Nothing." I growl at him, the slightest bit of red rising to my cheeks, "Just forget it."

Then his eyes widened, "Oooh...it's to do with _that_ , isn't it?"

"Shut up."

Selene's POV

I played several more songs, but then I ran out of ones I felt like playing and put Blythe away.

I had fun for the rest of the evening, talking to people, dancing to the music playing from the speakers, eating, and just enjoying myself. Merlin took my phone at one point and said that he'd give it back before he left, because he had some modifications to make that he'd explain later.

And once I fell into my bed that night (after washing all makeup such off my face-sleeping with it on is like _asking_ for my face to become zit central), I was instantly, happily, blissfully asleep.

* * *

Selene: Hey, if anyone wants to take a crack at guessing what that second song was, be my guest. Just, I rather you not look it up. If you don't know, you don't know. Anyway, if you do know, let me know!

Authoress: Oh man. I'm screwed. I've got a Honors Physics test next hour.

Selene: Authoress, calm down. You'll do fine.

Authoress: NO I WON'T I NEVER DO IN THIS SUBJECT! I don't even know why I'm in the Honors class when I'm awful at science.

Authoress: Oh wait. That's right. My dad adores physics and assumes that I should as well. Ugh…

Selene: Don't worry. Think of the bright side. You finished Cerim's route earlier today and came up with an way to connect that trilogy with the Elemental Spiritual-in Aurora's story! I do wonder who she'll be paired with. Aren't you leaning towards Guy at this point?

Authoress (perks up at the talk of the stories): Yeah. Because Cerim would end up being her distant cousin, and that'd be weird. I might pair Cerim with Zelia's daughter or something. I don't know. I'd have to wait for his route to come out, but at the moment I'm thinking of pairing Aurora with Guy.

Klaus: What's this about my darling daughter?

Authoress (laughing awkwardly): N-nothing…

Klaus: Oh please, do tell. Are you trying to put my little girl in a relationship?

Authoress: Y-yes…

Klaus: And what makes you think she's ANYWHERE NEAR OLD ENOUGH for this sort of thing?

Selene: Calm down, Your Rudeness. Elias and Katalina were both barely 15-heck, Elias was fourteen for the first few months-when they started dating. Yukiya was fifteen and Philyra was 14 when they began dating. My mother had my oldest brother at the age of 19. Yukiya's mother had him at 18. Aurora's at a good age.

Klaus: No she is NOT! She is a little girl still! I refuse to allow this!

Selene (patting him on the back): She's 15, darling. You'll have to let her grow up sometime. And I'm not forcing her to date. But if she finds a nice young man-or just one she falls in love with, because heaven knows you weren't always the nicest person when we weren't quite dating yet-I have no problem with her dating. It's her choice. She's a big girl honey. You have to let her start making her own choices.

Klaus: But…

Aurora: What this about me making my own choices? Does this mean you'll let me get the tattoo of the swirly music notes on the back of my shoulder? The design cousin Laurel made?

Klaus: NO!

Aurora: Worth a try. Seriously though, what did I miss?

Selene: I was just saying...mph, mmph.

Klaus (who'd covered her mouth): She was trying to tell me we need to let you take care of your own grades, which, might I mention, young lady, could use some work.

Selene: MM-MPH!

Authoress: Liar.


	57. Chapter 45

Okay, I'm putting Selene's tarot card reading at the end. I spent what was probably way too much time researching tarot cards for this chapter. I'd actually buy myself a good deck, but my dad would get really mad. He says that tarot cards are one of the devil's tools and are evil. It's not like I'd truly believe in them, I'd use them for story references only. I think it's fascinating. It's merely a tool, and we choose how we use them. I believe that the tarot cards themselves aren't inherently evil, but the ways some _people_ may use them may be what's really evil. I mean, seriously, it's a deck of cards…but you try telling my dad that. Thank goodness for the internet. (I wrote this paragraph last spring when I wrote the chapter)

Onto the Author note I'm writing today. Happy Halloween everyone! I've got a special Halloween chapter that'll be posted right after this one. The second Halloween special for this story, guys! I'm inwardly squealing at how proud of myself I am.

A Neko! Or, in other words, a cat-person. The reason I don't have a tail or ears is because of my (fake) pink diamond necklace. It's magical, and conceals my tails and ear so that I might better blend in with the human people. It doesn't work on my whiskers, though. (Really, it's all just an excuse to why I don't have ears or a tail, but eh, it's a pretty good excuse, no?)

And, I'm finally moving on to the start of the first major arc in chapter 46! And this chapter foreshadows things! Whoohoo!

* * *

Chapter 45

I spent the next day, Saturday, with Merlin and Jonny in town, and had a good deal of fun-Sarah had to leave after breakfast, saying she had something or other for work to go get done; but she made sure to have me tell her what I wanted my Halloween costume to be...

* * *

Authoress: Ironically, this was writing back in the spring but is getting posted on Halloween...completely unintended! But fun anyway!

Selene: Authoress, you just completely interrupted the flow of the story.

Authoress: Sorry, sorry.

* * *

...and promised to send it before the day of. Merlin had to leave that evening, so he could make the trip back to his school before it started on Monday. Before he left, he gave me back my phone-apparently, he'd figured out how to get the video calls to work over the dimension barrier thing. It doesn't last as long on battery as regular calls would, but you can always just feed it some magical energy to keep it going. Kid's got talent, that's for sure. I have a feeling that he's going to start marketing these things after he graduates. Heck, by the time I end up having children old enough for a phone, he probably will have made it rich off of magical phones by then.

* * *

Authoress: That was unintentional foreshadowing. They actually have magic phones in Cerim's route! I'm actually planning to have the Princess of Crystal characters for Aurora's story, so it'd make sense with the Elemental timeline to have phones be more commonplace in Myula at that point. It's like the game is encouraging this fanfic or something…

Selene: Authoress. Focus.

Authoress: Sorry...

* * *

I spent Sunday morning with just Jonny, and we spent most of it talking.

And you know how at some point, usually, your parent will have "that talk" with you about dating and whatnot? Well, Jonny had "that talk" with me. Kind of unnecessary, if you ask me. It's not like I'll be dating anytime soon. But other than that, it was fun being with my biggest (not literally the biggest, but age-wise eldest) brother. Jonny's not the best with over-the-phone conversations, so it's always much more fun to be with him in person. I have to say that Jonny is my favorite brother. Yeah, yeah, I shouldn't have a favorite, but I can't help it. Besides, my other brother's know I love them and that Jonny is more my father than brother anyway. He's Merlin and Eric's pseudo-father, too. I've always been closer to Jonny than my other brothers, with Merlin being a close second since we were so close in age (just under a year, about tenish months).

He had to leave after lunch, and I went back to the academy and spent some time with Elias, who most helpfully explained a few things from the history book I was reading.

…. …. ….

The next few weeks passed by, mostly fun and nice. I still verbally battled Klaus on a regular basis, embarrassed Elias through snuggle/cuddle torture, chased down Luca and made him come to class (with about a 69% success rate that seemed to be steadily climbing), talked with Yukiya, hung out with Zave, Isa, and Alex, as well as other friends. Amelia and I became really close friends. I did have to switch rooms a few weeks in, because of something or other. I don't really understand why, but the end result was that I was now located on the uppermost floor of the dorm, and had a double room to myself. There weren't enough girls to completely fill more than half the rooms at the girls' dorm, so most of the upperclassmen had rooms to themselves. The previous occupant of my dorm apparently went on an apprenticeship that would count as her last year before graduation. And, apparently there was a new girl who was supposed to come in a few weeks, and would be staying with Amelia because they would be closer in age. I still saw Amelia regularly, though, and we still talked all the time. She missed having a roommate, but was happy she'd get another one soon.

And soon after the room switch, I was pulled out of History of Magic to have my magical abilities tested. It wasn't that hard, but I couldn't tell what the instructor, Professor I-Can't-Remember-Her-Name-At-This-Time-I'm-Sorry-'Bout-That, thought about any of it. She had a perfect poker face. She put my through a magical evaluation that was even more rigorous than the one that Klaus did early on in my trial. When it was over, I was exhausted, and completely in need of a nap. The Professor said she'd be back with my results in a few weeks. I went to Professor G's class to explain to him I was skipping and going to take a nap. Yup. That's me, Miss Responsible. I inform the teacher of when I'm going to skip. He just laughed and told me to enjoy myself. Him and Professor Merkulova were very understanding. It was no wonder both were favorites of the students.

I also learned more than I thought I ever would when it came to magic. It was so much fun I can't even put it into words. I got to see several more minor magic creatures, like carbuncles (which were just adorable) and firefly owls (the little babies were the most _darling_ things! I'm still squealing inwardly because they were so darn cute!), I got to learn how to capture an image in an object, all sorts of things. And, at one point, Klaus taught me how to ride a broomstick-I never got to try in Terra, because that sort of thing would be way too noticeable; there was also the small fact that Wade never let me touch his expensive, high-quality racing brooms (not that it would've stopped me, but Cynthia made me promise not to). Klaus had no such qualms, thankfully. Flying was soooo much fun, you wouldn't believe it could be that fun. There's reasons people dream about having wings and such and getting to fly. Very good reasons. And, at one point, I convinced Elias to play his violin for me. The kid was actually really good, and enjoyed it. Klaus mentioned that maybe I could help Elias transfer his musical creativity to his magic-Klaus said he'd do it himself, but he knew next to nothing about music. It was a good idea, really.

"Only," I had said, "I might be a bit limited in how I can explain things."

"Why?" Klaus asked.

"'Cause I can't read sheet music, or musical notes, or any of that jazz."

He coughed, taken completely by surprise, "Seriously?! How are you so good with music, then?"

"I've sing-slash-play by ear." I shrugged, "I've never learned any other way."

"That's actually incredible, in it's own way." He commented.

"Eh, not really. It's just a different way of learning." I laughed, "In case you hadn't noticed, most of the ways I learn _are_ the most unorthodox methods possible. I unintentionally seek out the strangest way to learn."

"I noticed." He sighed, "It's a pain to have to reteach you most of what you learn in class."

"Hey!" I protested, "You're the sucker who got swayed into teaching me!"

"And I regret it every time we start lessons." He teased, "But I suffer through it, because I quite like being the top student, thank you."

"Dude! Stop stealing my sass!" I whined, "It's mine!" He just smirked and went back to his eternal load of paperwork (serves him right, for teasing me so much!). I sure hope I don't become prefect-too much paperwork.

One thing I did notice was that, as time passed, I got this warm fuzzy feeling in my chest every time I was around Klaus. It was strange, but I paid it little to no heed. It wasn't harming anything, and, besides, it could just be magical energy build up increasing my body temp. It wasn't improbable. Unlike Terra, Myula was full of magical energy in the surroundings. Terra pretty much leeched off excess magical energy-Myula didn't. I was probably still adjusting...

When my second favorite holiday (the first favorite being April Fools' Day-I mean, it's literally a day to prank people and get away with it!) All Hallow's Eve rolled around ('twas on a Saturday this year), I got my costume from Sarah. The irony of it was awesome-I was Elsa, complete with post-Let-It-Go dress and cloak, white glittery heels that had the Cinderella aura (that I suffered through the day with because it was for the sake of the costume), braid, and makeup. No one knew who Elsa was, though, so I just told them I was the Snow Queen. They got that. It was awesome. I wonder how I'll top it next year-I always try and have an awesome, or funnier, costume than the year previous. All in all, Halloween rocked.

With as many friends as I made over the course of time, I grew a good deal closer to a few, namely Amelia, Isa, Zave, Yukiya, Elias, Luca, and Klaus. Life was awesome, and every day, for the most part, anyway, was a blast. I occasionally thought back to my pre-school life, and as much as I loved it, I wouldn't give up my experiences since coming to the academy. It really was the best thing that had happened to me. I did remember to call home and whatnot at least once a week, because family is very important, you know.

We got around to learning about divination in Professor Merkulova's class in the third week of November, starting with tarot cards. I'd seen them in Terra, but most weren't genuinely magical-I did know how to use them somewhat, however, because I had this whole phase back when I was twelve with fortune telling...yeah. There was this box, a magic tool, that created a deck personalized to the person who activated it. I, for the life of me, can't remember or pronounce the name. It was in a language I didn't know, a really old one from another country in Myula. Anyone who had any magic could use tarot cards, and the box was used at the start of that first class to create a deck for any in the class who didn't have a deck. Most did, but me and a few others didn't, so we got to use the box.

Most of the people had pretty regular decks, the colors varying and sometimes the suits looking a little different-but mine was _sooo_ not reg-u-lar. It was strange, and _very_ detailed with the pictures. In a tarot card deck, there are two kinds of card-Major and Minor Arcana. The Minor Arcana are divided into four suits: wands (also known as rods or staves), cups (aka chalices or goblets), swords (aka blades, knives, or athames), and pentacles (aka coins or disks). The Major Arcana, on the other hand, has 22 total cards, labeled 0 through 21. They signify big things, and if, in a reading, you get a Major Arcana and some complimentary Minor Arcana to go with it, pay attention because it'll become important.

Now, when I got back to my desk and began to look through my cards, and was startled to see some of the pictures. All the wands in that suit looked really similar to mine, only they had bronze and gold threads instead of just gold twining around the silver backing. The cups were all silver, with golden decorations. All the swords were bronze colored, and all the pentacles were again a mixture of silver, gold, and bronze. The Major Arcana weren't so wildly different, but you could see a theme of those same three metallic colors showing throughout them. The backs of the cards depicted a picture of bronze dragon curled up, sleeping, surrounded by flames; there was a silver border to the cards, a weaving, twisting, ornate silver border. It was the strangest thing.

"Hey Elias, take a look at these. Do they look normal to you?" Elias stopped fiddling with his lilac-backed cards (in background color, I mean, they had a dark violet six-pointed star on the center of each back) and looked up when I spoke to him. I handed him my deck and he inspected them, a perplexed look on his face.

"These are wildly different than any deck I've ever seen before," He said simply, handing them back to me, "Then again, the box"-see? Even Elias had trouble pronouncing the name and called it "the box"!-"makes them personalized to the person. So, the pictures must have a deep connection to you, and may even reveal things about yourself you don't know about, whether you understand it or not. I'd show them to Klaus. He'd know more than I-divination is too abstract a magic to interest me much."

I nodded thoughtfully and turned my attention back to Professor Merkulova, who was starting the instructions for the assignment, "I want each of you to use your reference books to choose a spread"-a formation of cards you draw, how many you draw and how you set them up depends on the spread you choose to do-"and create it, using the question of 'what your future holds', a basic question for tarot cards. Depending on the spread you choose, there are many different outcomes. I want a detailed summary of your reading turned in tomorrow, okay?"

The class sighed at the prospect of a paper, but I was kind of excited. I looked at the beginning of the book (which, incidentally, I had bought a copy of in town last weekend), where there was a list of spreads: Celestial Year (13 cards); Celtic Cross (10 cards); Cross (5 cards); Dialectical (3); Diamond (5); Elemental Spread (4); Ellipse (7); Fork (3); Mandala (9); Medicine Wheel (5); Mirror (8); Norn (3); Odin's Draw (1); Odin's (5); and Spiritual (3). Hmm...so many choices...

"Elias," I whispered, catching the attention of the studious blond, "what spread are you going to do?"

"I'm thinking the Diamond Spread." He replied, "You?"

I thought, "I'm thinking Elemental. Appropriate, right?"

He nodded, then turned back to his desk. I opened the books describing the Elemental spread, and put a sticky note tab on the page-soon after my trial, I discovered sticky notes weren't a thing in this world, and immediately sent home a plea for a bunch of them, and got a big stack of all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors of sticky notes-then, I used by deck to randomly decide the order in which the elements would be (meaning I drew a card of the Minor Arcana to decide the first element, then the second, third and forth) and ended up with air (swords), water (cups), earth (pentacles), and fire (wands) respectively. Air represents the mind and mental processes; Water represents the emotional life; Earth represents the physical and material life; and Fire represents spirit, will, and ego. A card in the reverse position (meaning upsidedown) has a different meaning than the regular position. Okay. Time to draw.

I shuffle the cards thoroughly, putting a little magic power into them, not looking as I shuffle. Once I deem it sufficient, I take the first card, for Air, and set it down, backside up. Next to it, for water, I place another card. Then the card for Earth, then Fire. I set aside the deck, then take a breath and turn the cards over. Air: Three of Swords. Water: Eight Of Cups-Reversed. Earth: Nine of Swords. Fire: The World (a Major Arcana). I go through the book and mark the four pages that tell about these cards, then go back and actually read them in order.

"Yikes…" I hiss, "Clearly, my future doesn't look to great."

Elias turns around at my words, "Huh?"

"Take a look at this." I laugh weakly, "Three of Swords, meaning painful separation. Sorrow. Heartbreak. Grief. Rejection. Eight of Cups, reversed, which is hopelessness. Aimless drifting. Walking away. Nine of Swords-depression. Nightmares. Intense anxiety. Despair."

Elias grimaced, "That doesn't sound good."

"Not at all!" I laughed madly, "But you know what, the final one was The World. I'll suffer in many ways to the most extreme, but I'll have a happy ending. It'll all be worth it!"

"Yours is a happy nature."

"You betcha, bud." I shook my head, "Well, my near future looks bleak. Then again, this isn't the most exact of arts, so I might be just fine and not suffer any of this. Lovely!"

Elias gave me a strange look, then shook his head, "I'll never understand you." He turned back to work on his own reading.

Well, my luck was looking bleak. Eh, Oh is Well.

* * *

Authoress: And you guys got a hint of something in Taming at the beginning of this chapter. X-)

Selene: Yup. Authoress just completely disregards the fourth wall several times in Eli's story.

Authoress: I just can't help it...most of the time he was being so adorably awkward and I just _had_ to comment…

Selene: Nevermind. Next time: The Tarot Time Begins. From Bad to Worse or even Worse than Awful. Eventually I'll get a happy ending, so don't worry. This munchkin's existence proves it! (*grabs Aurora, who was passing by, and hugs her*) She does! She does!

Authoress: Sorry Aurora. We're nearing a very sad part of the story that still upsets your poor mother.

Aurora: Okay then...How long is she going to suffocate me in this hug?

Authoress: Either for the next several chapters or until your father comes along and cheers her up.

Aurora: Oh gosh...(*sighs*)


	58. Chapter 45 point 5 point 1

Okay, this is the really detailed compilation of what Selene's tarot reading was. It took hours to put this together, but it was worth it. :)

* * *

 _ **Air**_ :

 **Three of Swords**

Swords were typically depicted with curved blades in ancient tarot decks to distinguish them from staves. They correspond to the playing card suit of Spades, (in Italian, spada means sword). This suit represents the element Air, and the social classes of Nobility and Military. Swords are considered a Masculine suit. Swords typically represent intellect, reason, mental clarity, and the sciences. They may also represent conflicts surrounding the questioner.

The Threes typically concern action, production, creativity, early results, mastery, achievement, birth, or loss. They can represent groups, or "three's a crowd" situations. Three can also represent the synthesis of a thesis and antithesis.

 **Painful separation. Sorrow. Heartbreak. Grief. Rejection.**

This card depicts a pure piercing sorrow of the mind. The sorrow must be felt and experienced for closure and relief to come. Generally speaking, it is a negative card and often refers to loss.

 _ **Water**_ :

 **Eight of Cups (Reversed)**

Cups are also referred to as chalices and may be represented by religious grails or goblets. They correspond to the playing card suit of Hearts. This suit represents the element Water, and the social class of Clergy. Cups are considered a Feminine suit. Cups typically represent emotions, love, and spiritual beliefs.

The Eights typically concern solidity, thick walls, skill, patience, achievement, change, and future contentment. Eights may also concern being enmeshed in the material world, trapped, caught between a rock and a hard place, revolution, travel, and showing strength to move quickly and escape a difficult situation.

 **Escapism. Disappointment. Abandonment. Withdrawal. New perspective.**

This indicates changes in affections and the breaking of irrelevant links with the past - a turning away from existing relationships and objects of affection with the intent of progressing to a more meaningful life. A change or gaining of perspective, this can indicate disillusion with the present, inaugurating the growth of greater future contentment and depth. This card usually carries the meaning of disillusionment and abandonment of things which have not been emotionally fulfilling.

 **Reversed Meaning:** **Hopelessness. Aimless drifting. Walking away.**

This card can indicate that the questioner feels disillusioned but is unable to clarify why. The questioner may be drifting aimlessly through life, without a clear purpose. They may be neglecting loved ones or a relationship due to uncertainty and confusion.

 _ **Earth**_ :

 **Nine of Swords**

Swords were typically depicted with curved blades in ancient tarot decks to distinguish them from staves. They correspond to the playing card suit of Spades, (in Italian, spada means sword). This suit represents the element Air, and the social classes of Nobility and Military. Swords are considered a Masculine suit. Swords typically represent intellect, reason, mental clarity, and the sciences. They may also represent conflicts surrounding the questioner.

The Nines typically concern completion, perfection, the end of a cycle, independence, self-reliance, inner strength, and satisfaction. Nines can also represent defensiveness, an inability to give and take, loss, and martyrdom.

 **Depression. Nightmares. Intense anxiety. Despair.**

This card can mean deception, premonitions and bad dreams, suffering and depression, cruelty, disappointment, violence, loss and scandal. However, all of these may be overcome through faith and calculated inaction. This is the card of the martyr and with it comes new life out of suffering. This card can also represent being plagued by fear, guilt, doubt, and worries that are to a large extent, unfounded. The chances are that the questioner or the person represented is dealing with a problematic situation or a difficult decision, but their worst fear is unlikely to materialize.

 _ **Fire**_ :

 **The World**

 **Fulfilment. Accomplishment. Success. Integration. Involvement. Prospering. Satisfaction. Repletion. Contentment. Good feelings. Wholeness. Completion. Travel.**

The World represents a positive ending. It represents completeness and a closeness to the cosmic consciousness as in enlightenment. The World is a card of fulfilment, accomplishment, repletion, and prosperity. The questioner feels successful, involved, and satisfied. They may have found true contentment. It may represent what is truly desired by the questioner. It may also represent travel in the questioner's life.


	59. Halloween Special 2016

Hey! It's the second Halloween short for this story! This one was a lot harder than the last one honestly...it took me forever to come up with what the heck to write...but it's done! I hope you guys like it! I am, however, posting this with the normal chapter. So it's probably not going to be super long like most of my previous holiday specials.

The language they speak throughout this special is Geolunan (even though I changed the country name to the proper spelling, I'm keeping the language to this because I'm lazy and I can).

Note: You might need to refer to Selene's Family Guide thing posted numerous chapters ago.

Also, after chapter 50-something, Selene gets short hair. She literally wacks it off with a knife and her sister later fixes it into a pixie cut. In this short, her hair will be about halfway up her neck in the back and just brushing the tops of her shoulders in the front. Remember that.

Oh, and to see what Selene's pumpkin looks like, use this link (just remove the spaces first):

www. Thisoldhouse sites /default /files /styles /gallery_ slideshow /public /migrated /images /09- pumpkin- contest. jpg?itok =yaGdXG8w×tamp =1464282701

To see Klaus' pumpkin, use this link (again, after removing the spaces):

www. stretchingabuckblog wp-content /uploads /2013/09 /owl-pumpkin. jpg

* * *

Halloween Special 2016 (And let's just say that the Halloween is on a Saturday instead of a Monday)

Terran Traditions

"What in the world are you doing?" Klaus looked over at Selene as she walked in, a medium-sized pumpkin in each arm.

"Halloween's tonight!" She beamed at him, "Which means we're carving pumpkins! The rest of my family did it yesterday, but since we got in last night we missed it."

"You...carve pumpkins? That's strange." He said.

"Not really. It's a big thing in Terra. My family has the tradition of having one for each member. It was several to begin with, but now it's huge. We've actually had to start pre-ordering from one of the local farmers so that there'd be enough. And now, you get to make one, too!"

He raised an eyebrow, "That sounds ridiculously messy. And more trouble than it's worth."

"You just haven't tried it. But it can be a bit messy, so you'll have to change." She eyed his shirt, which was way to nice for something like this. Not to mention his dress slacks… "So unless you want to go without a shirt, I'll nick on from one of my brother's rooms. I'm personally fine either way."

He rolled his eyes, "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"You bet." She winked at him, "You're definitely not hard on the eyes, my dear." She snickered and then skipped off to go search through her brother's things. Matthias', Matthew's, Inan's, and Merlin's things would be too small-none of them were as broad in the chest as Klaus was. That left Wade and Eric's things. Wade's would probably fit, but it'd be close. And Wade was that one brother who got really annoyed when people touched his things. In this big of a family, there had to be one. There wasn't much he could do seeing as he was in a different country (in a different dimension, actually), but still. Eric on the other hand...he wouldn't care as long as she washed it afterward. Eric's stuff it was, then.

She returned to the living room and tossed an old T-shirt and a pair of jeans ripped at one knee on Klaus' lap, "There you go. They might be a little big, but they'll fit."

Klaus raised an eyebrow, "Big? You're brother's aren't the biggest people-tall, most of them, yes, but not big."

"Those are Eric's. If I didn't know better I'd say that man is half giant." Selene pursed her lips, trying to suppress a smile.

"Ah."

"Now go change." Selene shooed him out of the room and went to the kitchen to set up. Normally when her family did it, they had to commandeer the Club Diner (refer to chapter 7.5) main room. But since it was just the two of them, the kitchen table would work. It was a rather large one, after all.

She had set up with a plastic tablecloth and a large metal bowl for the seeds and guts. She pulled various carving tools from various places around the kitchen and put them next to the pumpkins. She also dug around in the miscellaneous drawer and found a sharpie.

When Klaus walked in the room, she grinned, "Ready Freddy?"

He rolled his eyes, "Ready to make a mess, _sure_."

"The sarcasm isn't appreciated, bud." She stuck out her tongue before continuing, "Now, I've found the easiest way to start is to either draw a picture freehand or use the spiky tracing tool thing to trace a picture. I think we'll just go freehand to save time. I'll let you know what to do next. And don't look at what I'm doing-I'm not going to look at yours. We'll show each other what they are at the end."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And don't you sass me boy!"

"Yes, mother."

"You may be a foot taller than me but I will not hesitate to put you over my knee young man!"

He chuckled, shaking his head. He took the marker she proffered him and uncapped it. He had no clue what to do.

"And it can be something simple, Klaus. Don't feel that it needs to be as perfect and amazing as mine will be-remember, I've been doing it since the age of four." Selene added, using the spiky tracing wheel on her own. Several minutes later, she explained how to go about carving the pumpkin.

…. …. ….

"Done!" Selene declared, turning around to face Klaus. "How's yours? Oh! That's so cute!" His was a little owl carving. "That's really good for a first time! And don't make a snooty compliment about how perfect you are-just take the compliment and move on, please."

He smirked, "What's yours look like?"

"A haunted carousel!" She said, "I saw a really cute picture on pintrest, and made my own version. It turned out really well!"

Klaus couldn't speak. How did she manage to do something so complex in such a short time? So many details…

She grinned, "I love carving pumpkins, if you can't tell. Now, help me separate all the seeds from the guts. We're going to bake them!"

"Bake them? Don't you just throw them away?"

"No, silly!" Selena chided, "That's a waste of good snack food! And both know how I hate wasting food."

Klaus rolled his eyes, "No, Selene, I don't think I do know. Don't you love wasting food?"

"Watch the sass, buddy!" She wiped her pumpkin-juice covered hand on his cheek. He jerked back, his own hand snapping up to grab hers. He pulled her and tipped her back, leaning forward so his face was near hers.

"Did you honestly think you could get away with that?" His voice became lower than normal.

"Nope." She put free hand behind his neck, pulling him in for a quick kiss. When she pulled back, she gave him a cheeky grin. "I knew what you'd do. I'm more clever than you give credit for." He had a slight flush across the tops of his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. "It's so much fun to surprise you, Klaus. You get all cute and flustered."

His eyes narrowed, "I do, do I?" He backed her up to the counter, and she yelped when he lifted her onto it. "Let's see how you like surprises."

He didn't even try to be gentle when he pushed his lips to hers. His hand was tangled in her hair-which was just long enough for him to weave his fingers through-pulling it taunt. His other hand was holding both of her hands behind her back, pressing them into the curve. Her eyelids fluttered shut as she kissed him back (as best she could with her hands and head held in place).

"A-a-aunt Se-sele-lene?" Came the stuttered voice of a three year old cutie. "W-where are yo-ou? Mama ne-needs your gu-guyses pum-umkins."

Klaus jolted back and Selene slid off the counter. Both tried to control their flushed faces and breathing as a three-year-old Daren toddled into the room, all bundled up in a puffy coat with mittens. He looked up at his aunt and her boyfriend and tilted his head. "Y-you okay? Yo-your faces are r-r-red. F-fe-ver?"

Selene smiled, "No, hun, we don't have fevers. I tried to warm up the room with my magic and I warmed it a bit too much. The room cooled down, but we didn't cool so quickly."

"O-o-okay!" He smiled at her, "Mama w-wants the p-p-pumkins!"

"Sure thing, hun. Go tell Mama Ria that we're done and we'll bring them out to put with the rest. Can I trust you to do deliver this important message?" Selene looked at her nephew, completely serious.

His face lit up, "Y-yes!" He ran out of the room.

Selene smiled, "I know I'm should have favorites, but I daresay Daren's my favorite nephew. He's so completely adorable."

"You are a wonder."

She looked over at him, leaning back against the counter, "Pardon?"

"He nearly walks in on us and you're acting as if nothing happened. You even fed the kid a story-which he completely believed-and avoided getting caught at anything. How? Just...how?" Klaus shook his head.

"I'm…"

"And don't even dare say it's because you're magical."

She snickered, "You know me too well. But I guess that's okay. I'll start cleaning up in here, if you'll take the pumpkins out to where the rest of them are. It's just out in front of the house. I've no doubt Ria will direct you to where they'll go. Then come back and help me with this."

…. …. ….

Klaus came into Selene's room, up in the attic of the house, rubbing his damp hair with a towel. After making the pumpkin seeds, Klaus got called out to help one of Selene's bothers with something. By the time he was done, Selene had showered and gotten into her pjs-an old t-shirt that went to her knees (she stole it from one of her brothers, like with most of her pjs) and a pair of blue fluffy pants. Not to mention her slipper-sock combination things that looked like wolves.

And she had set a corner of her floor with various blankets and pillows, with various bowls of snack food within reach.

"What in this world are you doing?" Klaus sighed, hanging the towel on a doorknob.

"Creating the perfect movie-watching set up! I've picked out a few movies to watch while my family takes the littles trick or treating in town." She picked up a Terran device and set it up on a short table in front of the, "I borrowed Merlin's laptop so we could watch. He's already got it set up to where I can use it without getting frustrated. Plus, his laptop has the biggest screen out of the ones in this , come sit."

He raised and eyebrow, but sat among the cushioned objects. Selene plopped herself down between his legs and leaned back on his chest. She was just the right height so that Klaus could either look over the top of her head or lean on her shoulder. "Okay, first we'll be watching a more mild one, _Hocus Pocus_. I love this one. It's super cheesy, but it's so funny. Particularly since we know what real witches are like. After this, we'll watch some scarier ones, like _The Village,_ and _Sixth Sense_. Then, we're going to watch _Nightmare before Christmas_ to wind down." She turned on the screen of the device and clicked a few things. It started playing and she snuggled back into him, grabbing a bowl and pulling it into her lap. The opening credits began to play, and Klaus felt something press lightly against his mouth. He looked down and saw Selene's hand. He opened his mouth and she pushed a few pumpkin seeds into it. He chewed and swallowed.

"This batch turned out well." Selene whispered.

He leaned down and whispered into her ear, "I think it's because you're magical."


	60. Chapter 45 point 5 point 2

Okay, after the last chapter, which ended on a more haunting note, I decided to make a drabble chapter just for kicks. This is literally going to be a collections of scenes that'll take place sometime between the party and the class lesson on Tarot Cards. They're not necessarily in chronological order. Enjoy! (Oh, and I'll have them in third person POV, 'cause I'm feeling to lazy to do first person).

And I figured I should probably respond to some of the awesome reviews I've gotten! For some reason, I haven't been getting an email notifying me of each new review, and didn't realize that there were several I hadn't seen...yeah, I'm kind of irritated and might just send a complaint letter to the site.

Daisy Pragna: You've sent me several reviews—first off, thanks a bunch! And yes, Merlin does know how to handle Selene. Other than Jonny, who pretty much raised her, she's closest to Merlin because they're under a year apart. I loved writing the scene where they're pulling at each other's cheeks. It's so much fun writing stuff like that. And Klaus doesn't hate Zave so much as he really doesn't like how close he is to Selene...eventually, after Selene and Klaus end up together, those two will actually be friends. Now! Onto Tarot Cards! I had so much fun putting that together, despite how sad it was. And I had fun with that Halloween chapter. My idea for the Midwinter (aka Christmas) special is a little more sad, but sweet. Bittersweet, if you will.

707: Thanks for the offer! I'll take your up on it! Her wand is actually described back in the beginning, but that wand actually gets snapped in two in a handful of chapters. Her next wand is similar, but a bit different. It's got a silver background, with thick gold veins running along it. There are also thin, thin bronze veins running through the center of the gold ones. There's actually a lot of symbolism in the wand, which gets revealed later. If you let me know when you finish it, I'll send you my email. Thanks again!

Maudy: No, you're completely right. There are several Harry Potter references throughout this series. Heck, I'm planning to do a crossover between Elemental and Harry Potter at some point. It'll be a while into the future, for most of Selene's last year at the academy. It's going to be a student exchange sort of thing, and Selene and several other students, as well as one professor (*cough*Klaus*cough*) will go to Hogwarts (which, incidentally, I've given another name for certain reasons). And then some students from Hogwarts will attend the academy. It'll be fun—partially because I'm going to have them do a Triwizard Tournament, and partially because of another surprise. It's going to be great.

Yeah, I've got some awesome readers. Seriously, you guys rock. I've not gotten one mean review. I've also noticed something. In the big fandoms, you tend to get the people who are just mean to be mean. In the small fandoms, like this one, you really get the die-hard fans who love everything to do with it. I feel like this fandom is a family. :)

* * *

Chapter 45.5—Drabbles

* * *

Rainy Day (on a Tuesday)

Class was to start in a few minutes, and most of everybody was there, Klaus noticed (he was subbing that class)—even the Orlem boy had come, probably due to the fact that it was rainy outside. Selene, on the other hand, wasn't there yet.

A minute before the bell rang, a slumped girl with mussed blonde hair and wrinkled uniform and foreign bag dragging on the ground from one hand trod heavily into the room, staring at the ground dejectedly. Those who noticed her arrival watched curiously as she went over to the seat Selene usually took—the one behind Elias Goldstein and in front of Yukiya Reizen, by the window—and sat heavily in the seat, putting her head in her arms.

"Selene Fonix. What is the reason behind your state?" Klaus asked in a deadpan. "This is an academic institution, not a place to laze around."

A muffled response came from the girl.

"Please speak clearly."

Another, not as muffled response was elicited. Elias sighed, "She said 'it's raining'."

"Would you care to explain what that has to do with the question I asked?"

Yet another muffled response, this one a little longer than the previous ones. "'That's what I told you. It's raining. That's what's wrong. I hate the rain. I loath it. It's evil. Vile. Yucky.'" Elias relayed word for word, looking like he was trying not to smile.

Orlem laughs, "Little vixen is a fiery girl. Of course she doesn't like the rain."

"Well, just make sure to pay attention." Klaus sighed, thinking: ' _Strange girl._ '

* * *

Broomstick (on a Saturday)

"Okay," Klaus began, "I've decided that, since you've been working so hard as of late, that'd we have a more fun lesson today."

"Ooo! What is it?" Selene's eyes sparkled with excitement. Klaus smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Patience, child. Patience." Klaus chuckled.

"I'm not a child!" Selene puffed her cheeks out, purposely making herself look even more childish.

"Whatever you say." Klaus responded, "Now, back to what I was about to show you." He flicked his wand, not even needing an incantation—a skill Selene envied, and didn't do so well with unless it was fire magic (of course)—and soon, two things came speeding towards the two.

Selene's eyes widened with delight, "Broomsticks!" No, not brooms you sweep with, but flying brooms. The larger one belonged to Klaus, but the other one, the slightly smaller one, he'd borrowed from Elias.

"Yes. Have you ever ridden one?"

She shook her head, "They're too risky a thing to really use in Terra, and Wade would've never have let me touch his precious, high-quality racing brooms, anyway. But I'm _so_ willing to learn!"

Klaus nodded, "Then pay attention. I assume you can figure out how to mount it, correct?"

She nodded, and reached out to grab the smaller of the brooms. She felt a small vibration run through it as she gripped it, then a second or so later, it stopped. She swung a leg over the broom, straddling it much like a horse. "Okay, what's next?"

"You're holding it wrong." Klaus moved behind her and reached around her, putting his hands over hers, fixing the way her hands were. Selene was so focused on the broom that didn't didn't notice the way Klaus' heartbeat sped up a little, and that the slightest flush rose high in his cheeks. Klaus was all too aware of it, though. He backed away and mounted his own broom. "Okay, we'll start low to the ground so you can get used to the feel of it. In a way, brooms are a bit like horses—they each ride a little different. Push off, gently now, and guide it. It's a simple thing to do, but it can be hard to master."

Within the span of an hour she'd gotten the knack of it, and decided to have a little fun. "Klaus! Come on!" She zipped upward, and then went in loose circles, waiting for him to join her. She was nearly thirty-five feet in the air—if she fell, she could get really hurt. But she didn't care. Klaus sighed and went to join her. As soon as he drew near, she zipped away over the trees, beckoning him to join her. He sighed, smiled, and went after that hyper buddy of his.

* * *

Glasses (on a Thursday, soon after the Welcome Party Arc)

Selene and Klaus were both working in his office, her on her daily homework, him on his Magics of Old essay due later that week. Selene suddenly looks up and studies Klaus intently. Feeling that he's being watched, he looks up.

"Do you need something?" he asks, carefully masking the urge to squirm uncomfortably under her intense gaze.

"Have you always worn glasses?" Selene is still staring openly at him, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Since I was small. They're only reading glasses and I don't need to wear them often." He sighs, "Now go back to work."

Instead, she gets up and goes over to his desk, perches on the edge, and pulls them off his face, inspecting the thin-gold-rimmed spectacles. Then puts them on, "They aren't very strong." She muses, "But still, it's strange to see you in glasses. I can't believe I didn't notice before just now, and I've been here for weeks! I really need to pay better attention!" She laughs, not able to notice the slight blush that rose to his cheeks through the slight blur of the glasses.

"Can I have those back now? I've got work to do, and so do you."

She pouts, but takes them off and hands them back to him. He looks at them, "You got fingerprints on my glasses."

"Well," she states cheerfully, and not at all remorseful, "Be glad I didn't get them on your eyeballs."

"What?"

She laughs at his confused look and goes back to her homework.

* * *

Magick (I've given up at the day of the week thing…)

Klaus walked into the classroom that morning to find Selene sitting on a desk in the middle of the room, sleeves rolled up, surrounded by her classmates, who were 'ooh'ing and 'ah'ing. She was looking incredibly pleased with herself. She noticed Klaus. "Oo! Klaus! Wanna see a couple magic tricks?"

He raised an eyebrow, "You're asking if I want to see magic tricks? When we both go to a school for magical learning?"

"This isn't Myulan magic. It's Terran." She replied, "It's a special magic known as _Sleight of Hand_." Klaus, at this point in his secret learning of English, could mostly understand her English, but didn't know what she was talking about.

"Didn't you say that magic wasn't really real in Terra?" It wouldn't be the first time she contradicted herself...he, and others, would swear before a court that Selene Celeste Fonix tended to be a living contradiction.

"There's a version of magic that doesn't require any magical energy at all! Just practice and skill." She winked and got off the desk, coming over to him, "See?" She then pulls a large coin seemingly from behind his ear. He looks at it and blinks in confusion. Selene gives him a cheeky grin and grabs a deck of cards she'd left on the desk and effortlessly shuffles them. She spreads them out with a quick flick of the hand, like she was opening a fan. It was a regular deck. "Can you sense any magical energy coming from these cards, Klaus?"

"No." He said simply.

"Play close attention. It's a regular deck, right?"

"Yes."

With one fluid motion, she closes it against the palm of her other hand, face down. Then she flicks them open again. They appear to be blank. "Are you sure about that?" She peeks over the edge, clearly looking at the now-blank cards. Klaus wouldn't admit it, but that actually was impressive. She grins and closes it again, then flicks it open. It's now had become a deck of face cards. "Wow. These cards love to mess with my head, they do." She laughs, then closes and opens the card fan one last time. They were back to their original state.

Klaus shook his head, "Go sit, okay? It's time to start class." She nodded enthusiastically and went to go sit as the class scrambled to their own seats.

Klaus set down the small paper pile in one arm onto the desk. As soon as he thought he knew his buddy she pulled another trick or skill out. Strange girl. Strange, wonderful girl.

* * *

D _ **icy**_ Lessons

"Today we will be practicing a branch of water magic. We will be creating ice pictures and then using a variation freezing spell that will preserve it anywhere from four to five months before it needs to be refreshed."

Elias glanced back at Selene, who, strangely, look determined. This was the girl who moaned and groaned when the headmaster decided to lower the temp of the school grounds down several degrees to make it feel like autumn.

A little while later.

"Yes yes yes!" cried Selene, "I did it!"

Elias looked over, and his eyes widened a bit in surprise. She had indeed managed to make a picture from frozen water and the cast a preservation spell over it. "How did you do that?" Elias asked her. His own picture was done, but every time in the past that Selene had tried to work with water magic, it either exploded into steam or didn't do anything—but exhausted her either way. Heck, she once passed out after trying to get a bubble of water to float across the room. She was just unable to work with water.

"I didn't use water magic." she replied, smiling happily.

"You didn't use water magic." He repeated, "How else would you do that, then?" He pointed at her picture.

"Reverse heat magic!" She said cheerfully, "Klaus and I, with a suggestion from the headmaster, figured out how I could work ice magic—well, in a way, that is. You see, I don't actually use water magic or ice or cold magic. What I do is withdraw the heat instead of output heat. It works surprisingly well! It's basic chemistry—as temperature decreases, the particles of the water slow down, and when they slow down enough, they change the water into ice, see? So I just draw in the heat. I'm not working with the water or ice or cold at all! I'm just working with the heat energy _in_ the water!"

"That's pretty clever, little vixen." Said Luca, who'd been watching with interest. He'd actually been coming to class a lot more since Selene started bribing him with sweets and treats.

Selene beamed, "Why thank you, Luca!"

* * *

Upsetting Endings (Thursday)

With a frustrated scream, a book flew across the room and slammed into the wall. Klaus started and peered over his glasses to look at his buddy, who sat pouting/glaring at the novel she had thrown.

"Was that really necessary?" Klaus deadpanned.

"Yes!" Selene snapped, "That ending was terrible!"

"Endings aren't always happily ever afters. Deal with it."

"That's not what I meant!" she cried, "I can handle sad endings if the writer does it well, but that...that was awful! Three whole books only to kill off the _main freaking_ _character_ at the end...it's cruel! The author didn't even do it artfully!"

She inhaled and continued with her rant, "I can take it if a likable character, or an important character, is killed in the beginning, or in the middle, or, if it's done right, at the end! But you can't just kill off the flippin' main character who you've gotten the readers so attached to at the very end for such a stupid reason in such a stupid way! You don't do that to the readers! It's just wrong! And now, after three whole books, I'm furious because the author did indeed kill off the _main_ character!" She shrieks frustratedly, throwing her hands in the hair and falling back to lie on the little couch.

Klaus just shook his head. It was only a book. But if he said that, he knew he'd just have to listen to another one of her rants. It was better just to let her mope for a while.

* * *

Lightweight

Selene was walking along the back of the school, talking with Yukiya.

"I'm pretty sure I'm done with that project for history. How's yours looking, Yuki'?"

"Everything but the conclusion." he replied.

"Nice. And it's not even due until next week." Selene skipped along, practically singing her words. "Speaking of next week, what are you doing this weekend? I'm thinking of maybe seeing if I can go to town and spending Saturday there. You interested?"

"Sure."

"Awesomesauce. Let's...gah!" Her words turned into a yelp as she suddenly was lifted off the ground.

Luca had snuck up behind her, scooped her up, and had taken off running with Selene over his shoulder. "LUUUUUUUUCAAAAAAAAA! Put me down!" Selene shrieks.

"Why? You're so light, little vixen~!" Luca cackles.

"I will singe your eyebrows off!" she howled beating her fists uselessly on on his back. "Puuutt meeee dooooooooownnnn!"

"Never~!"

"Yukiiiiiiiyaaaa! Help meeeee!"


	61. Thanksgiving Special 2016

Hey-O! I'm currently in Indiana at my Aunt's house for Thanksgiving! I've been having a lot of fun because she and her family moved back to the midwest this summer after living in California for four years. Before she moved, my family would go to her's for Thanksgiving every year, but we haven't been able to since I was in seventh grade (they moved that next winter), so it's nice to be able to do it again.

For all of my non-American/Canadian readers, I recommend you go look up Thanksgiving. It's a pretty much an American-exclusive holiday that involves a lot of preparation, family traditions, and food. Oh, and being grateful for what you have. Here, we've got Klaus in Terra with Selene for another holiday. This one a lot more chaotic than their peaceful All Hallow's Eve. Anyone who celebrates this holiday with a lot of family, or even just a big holiday with lots of family, will recognize this particular type of chaos.

And before you ask, it's it totally possible for there to be snow in November in Michigan. Even the lower peninsula. Heck, it snowed last Saturday (although it didn't stick). We can get snow as early as October and as late as April. It's crazy. Last Friday it was 60o fahrenheit (about 15.6o celsius), and it snowed/sleeted the next day. It's the lake effect, guys. It screws up any hope we have of predicting the weather here. It's why I don't trust the forecast more than a day or two out. XD

You guys also might need to reference Selene's Family Guide, posted a long while ago. Also, everyone is speaking in English (because Klaus did, in fact, learn English).

This isn't too terribly long, and there's not really much fluff (well, there's a little at the end), but eh. Enjoy. :)

* * *

Thanksgiving Special 2016

"Marie! How's the stuffing coming?" Selene called.

"Almost done!"

"Cynthia, the turkeys?"

"Not quite, about an hour more in the oven for both of them. Thank the sun this old house has two ovens."

"Sarah?"

"With the help of Galvin, fifteen freakin' pounds of mashed potatoes are done!"

"Awesome. And thank you, Galvin." Selene looked over her shoulder at Ria, "Pies?"

"All ready."

"Galena, Felicia, how about all the other random side dishes?"

"Done!" They said simultaneously.

"Awesomesauce! With the help of the littles, the table is set and the dining room is decorated. Let's get this finished up!"

Klaus stood in a separate room with all of Selene's brothers, listening to Selene as she kept the kitchen organized. "I'll never understand how she handles all that chaos. They've been in that kitchen for almost two days…"

Matthew laughed and slapped him on the back, "I'll tell you how. Our womenfolk are amazing creatures capable of feats we couldn't even dream of. I tell you, we've got it easy." And by easy he meant that all of the brothers, plus Klaus, had spent the last couple hours outside, manually cleaning and clearing the bonfire field, raking and picking up sticks. As well as cheating a bit and taking turns magicking bits of snow away (it had snowed earlier that week, and while most of it had melted, the bits that were hidden in the shadows hadn't). And the fire pit had been set up, with a bunch of chopped wood nearby. That's where they'd end the night.

"Don't forget we're the ones who get to do the dishes, Matt." Wade laughed, causing his brother to groan.

"Don't remind me!"

"It'll be worth it, though." Merlin laughed, "Has Selene ever made you her famous pumpkin-apple crepe cake?"

"No."

"Oh man, you're going to die and go to heaven tonight." Matthias snickered, "Just thought I'd warn you."

…. …. ….

The Pumpkin-Apple Crepe Cake _was_ divine. It became Klaus favorite dessert, much to the amusement of Selene's family and his tsundereish embarrassment when Selene started to coo over him. He wasn't his little brother, dang it! He shouldn't be cooed over—that's what his little brother was for, to draw the attention of the cooing woman (*cough*Selene*cough*His mother*cough*)!

But now they were all sitting by the bonfire, which, with a little help from Selene, was roaring and warm. Despite this, Selene was still bundled up in two coats, two scarves, three pairs of socks, some heavy gloves, a hat, earmuffs (over the hat), and three pairs of pants. Klaus would've laughed at her if she hadn't ended up looking so cute…

She was sitting on one of the logs surrounding the fire, with Klaus' arm around her waist as she snuggled into his side.

"Today was fun, wasn't it, Klaus?"

"I guess." Klaus replied, "I'll be the first to admit that it was a little more chaotic than I'm used to."

"You'll just have to get used to it then." Selene laughed a bit. "Besides, if you think this was chaotic, wait until we have our own children someday."

Klaus shuddered. That was a scary thought, for one reason alone—

"Because, don't forget, dearest, that I want at least a dozen!"

Merlin, who was sitting nearby, chuckled, "Good luck Klaus. You'll need it."

Klaus sighed, "Don't I know it."


	62. Chapter 46

Guys, I've decided to break Elemental up into Books. Mostly because it's going to get really, really, _really_ long. So, Elemental Wizardess (Heart) Book 1 will end at 59 Chapters. Then I'll move on to Book 2. This is going to be awesome! I've technically finished a novel guys! That's been my dream since second grade, to finish a novel before I graduate highschool (and I've mentioned this, I think, before, that I plan on putting the Elemental Spiral though a major edit and make it my own original story)! And I've done it! I'm also working on Elemental book 2, which will be named something different, so I'll let you know when we get there (but it won't be for a while). But KYAAAAAAA!

On a note actually related to this chapter, things start to pick up. We've reached the very beginnings of the climax of this story. Things happen. I'll admit that I actually cried while writing this chapter. I get really involved in the minds of my characters (I'm a method writer) and they can effect my real life. I was a zombie for a week after writing this, and was unable to start writing writing again for a week or so. But it's necessary to have this happen for the story to be able to move on.

* * *

Chapter 46

The next day (which, bear in mind, was a Friday), we turned in those essays of ours. Professor Merkulova shared a few of the more interesting ones (with the person's permission, of course) with the class. Which included mine. I joked about how I was "doomed to be happy, apparently." The class laughed, but a few people, namely Elias and Luca, gave me a look saying they didn't believe that I was so relaxed about it.

They knew me a bit too well. That reading scared me. But it's not like I can do much about it—in the legends and myths, every time someone tried to prevent something from happening, they ended up _causing_ it to happen. Therefore, I was going to try and go for the reverse psycology; meaning, not do anything until something happens. I'll try and make sure that I don't panic or freak out.

I didn't share my reading with Klaus, though. I had a feeling it'd make him worried, for some odd reason. I did show him my deck. He agreed that it was strange and repeated what Elias said about it probably just being personalized to me. It was a pretty cool looking deck, once I thought about it. And unique. Wheeee…! Oh, the fun of being me. ;)

Anyway, back to the current state of things.

"Okay class, today's lesson is on dream and impression divination. Elias, what is divination in these manners?" Professor Merkulova asked.

"Divination is the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown through visions, dreams, or through other means." Elias responded. He always gave good dictionary definitions—but as Klaus was always telling him, he lacked creativity. We were working on that…

"Very good. Now, the ability to divine the future is something that you either have or you don't. It's not necessarily hereditary, but it can be with certain bloodlines, but that is rare and only been seen in a few different lines. Yesterday, we used Tarot Cards, something that anyone with magical ability can use, because it is the cards that have the power, but need energy to activate it. Has anyone here ever experienced any other form of being able to divine the future?"

I raised my hand, and so did one other girl in the class. There was thirty kids in this class. I knew most of them by face only (with a scattering of names, which were harder). There was also the fact that I never was able to get to know many of them because I always left right after class to go help Klaus, and I either spent lunch in the library with Elias, with Isa and her friends, with Luca (at least once a week) or with Yukiya (which was now what we did every Tuesday, he was a surprisingly good cook with a style of randomly throwing things together in a way that doesn't make sense but it somehow turns out better than my cooking, which is pretty good. That's way our "lunch dates" work—he brings the food, I bring the drinks and the dessert. It works out pretty well). I also usually had dinner with Elias, Klaus, and Yukiya on Sundays, since none of us (with the occasional exception of Elias—Klaus was normally too busy to take an entire weekend to visit home, with his plethora of prefect duties and whatnot). I'm off topic...again. Back to class, Selene.

"Would either of you be willing to share?"

The other girl and I nodded. I let her go first.

"I always know if a storm or natural disaster is coming." Oh yeah, she's the girl who always knows what the weather will be like (not in the academy, since that was controlled by the headmaster, but in other places where it wasn't magically controlled, the the town). The professor nodded.

"Interesting. That kind of divination is very helpful, especially in places where the weather plays a big part in people's livelihoods. In Gedonlune, the weather is controlled mostly by the local court fae, and heaven knows that they can be unpredictable at times. What about you, Selene?"

"Well," I began, "Mine are never so grand or clear, but," the class laughed at my announcer's tone, and I waited until they calmed down before continuing, "They usually come in my dreams in _really_ strange ways. Sometimes, it's just flashes of pictures and snatches of sounds, but sometimes it's almost like one big foreshadowing analogy."

"Would you care to tell us some examples?"

"Well, I had two different ones a couple months ago, one the night before I came here, the other later that week. The first one was a 'flashes' dream—if I remember correctly, I saw an eye patch, a green blur—which I think was hair—some sort of book, a pendant, and a teddy bear. Now that I think about it, each of those could be applied to someone I met in the next week. It was Yukiya's eyepatch," I waved at the boy, "The green hair was of course the resident troublemaker o're there," I winked at Luca, "I'm pretty sure that big ol' book was lil' Eli, 'cause he's the only one it could be, the studying addict that he is," the class laughed as Elias flushed with a straight face. I snickered and continued, "The pendant, I've just now realized, is the same one as the prefect pendant, currently Klaus, so he's there. The only one I still don't know about is the teddy bear, but I'm sure I'll meet the person connected with that _eventually_." I inhaled and went on, "The other dream was pretty much the analogy type. To be honest, I fell asleep in one of the courtyards during a practice session and was out like a light for about ten minutes." I waited for the end of more laughter, "All the aforementioned people were in it, but they were all animals. Like, I'm not sure if it was their spirit animals being manifested, but they were animals nonetheless. I was one too, so don't get offended you three. I went off and was going to do something or other and met this animal, a big white dog with a friendly personality. The next day, I met a kid who went by the same name and had the same aura, Xavier Moonwalker. Those two dreams are the ones I remember most—not much happened before those...that I can remember, at the least."

The professor nodded, looking thoughtful, "Yours seems to be more short term, then. Now, back to our lesson. I'm going to put all of you under a light sleep spell that encourages prophetic dreams. If any of you have undiscovered divination talents that connect through dreams, this should help you find out. We'll be trying other kinds on Monday. Does everyone have something to lay their head on? Okay, here we go."

I quickly pulled my school cloak off the back of my chair and bundled it up into some sort of pillow and laid my head on it as the teacher waved his wand. I immediately began to feel drowsy, and felt myself slipping off into sleep land…

 _I felt happy, content. There was music playing from the radio of the car I found myself sitting in. I was driving, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't me. I look over and see Cynthia, who's singing along to the children's song that's playing, and I glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing Galvin and Elvy, who were both also singing along. I turn my focus back to the road, feeling myself smile. I realized that I must be seeing through Jonny's eyes. This is new. I've never become someone else before. It's not all that bad though, I'm happy, at the least. I had the distinct feeling that I was on my way home, and the scenery we were passing told me that we must be coming back from a visit to town. It was Friday. From the looks of it, they were only about five minutes from home._

 _I heard Cynthia say something, and even though I can't hear it clearly, Jonny does and laughs, responding in words I again cannot here. But I feel how much he loves her, and I feel the love he has for his two sons. I'm happy. So happy. Everything is perfect and wonderful. Jonny (and I, I guess) leans over and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. Jonny always kissed me on the forehead—he didn't kiss anyone but me on the forehead. He said it was because I was his only little sister, forever and always. His little sister._

 _Then I suddenly felt like there was something bad going to happen. No reason as to why, just this feeling of dread. Jonny suddenly said something, and I could hear it, "_ _I love you all so much. So, so much."_

" _Aww, sweetie,_ " _Cynthia giggled, "_ _I love you too!"_

" _I do too! I do too_ _!" Elvy giggled._

" _Me too!_ " _Galvin called._

 _He turned our attention back to the road, and a few minutes pass by._

 _Then something collides with my corner of the car and everything goes painfully red, then faded to black nothingness._

Elias' POV

Most of the class was already awake. There were only one or two kids still sleeping. The only way the spell would still be in place is if the person was dreaming.

I never knew Selene had such dreams. I guess she never had a reason to mention it. But she's still asleep.

Over the rest of class, everyone but Selene came out of their magically-induced slumber. There were a few who had dreams, and they were told to relay to the class when and if anything ever came of them. About ten minutes before the bell rang, Professor Merkulova told me to wake Selene up. Apparently, some people are more affected by the spell than others, and it might have affected her a little too much.

I turned around in my seat and reached my hand out. When it about about a foot from her shoulder, she suddenly flew out of the seat, like something big had slammed into her from the side, causing her to crash into Luca and his desk, screaming.

The class froze, though Luca was rubbing his shoulder, looking confused and a little frightened. Selene was babbling hysterically in what I recognized to be English. I heard her say "Jonny" a few times. She scrambled up and grabbed her...phone, it think it was called, and ran out the door, stumbling over her own feet a few times in her haste. The whole class was silent.

"Selene?" I whispered, feeling worried.

The class started to whisper, wondering what exactly just happened. Not even the professor was sure. I shared a look with Yukiya—his face looked as blank and apathetic as ever, but his eye shone with worry. I wasn't the only one. Even Luca looked concerned.

The bell signal for the next class rang and I went to Selene's desk, putting her stuff into her strange Terran bag. She only grabbed her phone, leaving even her wand. I pick up her bag in one arm and my own in the other. Her's is far lighter than mine—of course, she doesn't carry nearly so many books around as I do.

"I'm going to go look for her. See you at the dorm, Yukiya." I say, turning around.

"I'm going to go look around to. You should probably tell your brother what happened." He replied. I looked back and nodded.

Selene's POV

I called home again. And again. And again. Finally, on my sixth try, someone picked up. " _Hello? Is that you Selene?_ " Matthias!

" _Mata! Is Jonny okay? Is he?_ "

" _Jonny?_ "

" _Yes! Jonny!_ "

" _As far as I know. He should be on his way home about now, why do you ask?"_

I began babbling hysterically, terrified out of my wits.

" _Okay, okay, slow down Selene_." He told me, his voice calm and even, " _Take a deep breath and tell it to me, slowly now_."

I did as he told me and repeated my story from start to finish. He listened in silence. When he spoke, he sounded concerned and a bit worried. " _Are you sure it wasn't a dream or a hallucination, 'Lesty?_ "

" _As sure as I can get! It was far too real, and far too accurate to just be a dream. Whatever hit the car literally threw me out of my seat and into the guy next to me._ " I'll probably have bruises, but that's not important right now. I have to know if Jonny's okay.

" _If it's bothering you that much, though, I'll go check._ " As soon as he said that there was a distant screeching and boom noise. Matthias choked on his breath and I heard him begin to run, shouting directions to other people who were most likely visiting for the usual Friday family dinner. I could tell he still had the home phone in his hand. I waited where I was, paralyzed with dread and fear.

The lake was beautiful, the sky was blue with only the occasional stark-white cloud and a brilliant sun to light up the water, making it sparkle and shimmer in it's rays. It was such a lovely day, far too lovely to even suggest disaster. But it happened regardless. Disaster and Destruction like to make fun of us mortals by striking in times when it seems impossible for them to. It's their not-so-little game. Fun for only them.

I heard Matthias curse loudly, which was astounding. My brothers rarely cursed, I can count on one hand for each the number of times I've heard them do so. Now I feared the worst. When the phone came back to his ear, he spoke, saying something I never wanted to hear him say again. " _Selene._ " His voice sounded thick, and he nearly choked on his words, " _You were right…_ "

* * *

Aurora: Authoress isn't going to be in this ender. She wasn't in the right mood to be able to be here after going through and rereading this chapter.

Klaus: I remember when this happened...your mother was destroyed. She still tears up whenever it's brought up.

Aurora: When she handed me this chapter she burst into tears and had to cuddle me for almost twenty minutes before she completely calmed down. Now I know why.

Klaus: Why do you think I'm here? After she left you she came and plopped herself into my lap, buried her face in my chest, and refused to move for almost an hour.

Authoress: Did I hear of [insert couple name here] fluff?

Aurora: When did you get here?

Authoress: To heck if I know. Anyway, I think you guys need to help me with something. Couple name. I need a couple name for Selene and Klaus. I'm horrible at coming up with couple names. If any of you come up with one, please, let me know.

Aurora: After all this time, you ask that now?

Authoress: Yes. I do. Love y'all! Byeeee~!


	63. Chapter 47

Hey-o! Just to let you guys know, the first chapter (well, it's really the prologue and the first chapter) of Taming a Wizardess (Heart) is up! That's the spin off story of Elemental for my Elias pairing. Go check it out! It'll be finished the same time the first book of Elemental is. I will post for that one a few more times than I will the rest of EB1, mostly because, including this chapter, there are 13 chapters left. Taming is a total of 16 chapters (which includes the prologue). There will be a couple times where I post a chapter of Taming in between chapters of Elemental.

And, quick question for y'all: Do you guys mind if I quote some of the things you've previously said in the comments? I have to do this digital story project for one of my English classes (College Writing), and my topic is my writing. I want to use quotes of some of the awesome things you guys have said for some of the pictures. Please let me know if you don't want me to use anything you've posted in the comments! Seriously, because you guys have left me some awesome messages. Without all of you, this story would've never gone anywhere! Thank you. Thank you all. And now I'm going to respond to some of the recent reviews.

Daisy Pragnya: No. Woman should not be underestimated. There's a reason the scariest thing in nature and among mankind is an angry mother.

PetVet1023: (Ch 61) If you've read the prologue, you'll know that Selene does indeed get her way with nine total children and three on the way. Ha. Klaus thinks it's only two. Poor boy. (Ch 61) And yeah, I wanted to give her a hug really bad, too. I hate putting my characters through so much pain, despite how necessary to the plot it is. And I'm sad to say that it's going to get worse before it gets better—but it will get better!

Sybbie: First reaction upon opening up the review page: Woah. Thank you for taking so much time to write that review. I started crying by the end of it (in the best of ways).—Now to respond to specific parts of the review: Thanks for all the stuff you said about Selene. She'd be happy to hear it, and I have to say that we both share a few traits that way, both being optimists to the extreme. Although she'd probably argue that Elias needs to be taught creativity in unconventional ways, and so therefore taking his books and making him go on a scavenger hunt to get them back is a great way to do that (I don't necessarily agree with her on that, I'd get annoyed with her if she did that to me XD).—And yeah, Klaus is shy about confessing, even if he'd never admit it. And it's not so much that Selene doesn't notice (because she returns it on subconscious level and realizes it a bit later on) as much as it is the fact that she doesn't pay much attention to the things about herself. She's more focused outward than she is inward.—And I really am sorry if the specials chapters break things up a bit too much. Your review actually gave me an idea. I'm thinking about posting all the specials chapters up to this point (and the ones in the future) into their own separate story with notes of which chapters in Elemental they were originally posted between—then removing them from between the chapters of the actual story. That way, they'll still be there without interrupting the actual story. I'll probably, maybe, get that done during my winter break, which is soon.—And don't worry about your english. I literally thought that you were a native english speaker until you said you weren't.—And for the last part, the one specifically for the last chapter, I thank you for what you said. It was probably the most emotionally difficult chapter for me to write for anything pertaining to Elemental every, and your response made it more than worth me, one of the hardest parts of being a writer is causing your characters to suffer, no matter now necessary to the plot it is, because I wouldn't wish hurt and pain on anyone in real life, and my characters feel very real to me. But I also know that without pain and sadness we wouldn't understand joy and happiness. So thank you so much for being so understanding.

Again, I love you all, my dearest readers. You're all so wonderful to this aspiring writer and have given her the drive and courage to keep writing. And yes, she did just start speaking in the third person. Blame Cursed Wizardess (Heart), which is written in third person. It has caused her to randomly start speaking in third person without even realizing it (most of the time). There's a reason Authoress is normally better at writing in first person.

On a completely unrelated note, have any of you (the Harry Potter fans) seen the movie _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_? 'Cause if not...GO SEE IT! It was AMAZING. I loved it so, so, _so_ much. And, it's only the first of five movies! Yes, five! The sequel will be released (in the U.S., at least) on November 16, 2018. I cannot wait. The first movie was so wonderful words cannot fully describe it.

Sorry for the super long a/n. It's almost over. This chapter hints at some very sad things. However, Klaus gets to use his English skills, and there will be some foreshadowing of events for Book 2. Let me know if you think you know what that is. ;)

Note: From this chapter on (until I revoke it) English will be spoken like "This" while Myulan will be spoken like " _This_." Sorry for any resulting confusion, but it's needed for the next few chapters at the very least. Thank you. :)

* * *

Chapter 47

Klaus' POV

As soon as Elias told me what had happened in class, I immediately went to go look for Selene. From what Elias relayed to me, she was more panicked that he'd ever seen her. No one knew why, but Elias mentioned that in her babbling, he heard her say her oldest brother's name a few times. Apparently, the lesson had been on dream divination, and Selene was the last one awake. Had she seen something relating to Jonny? If so, I can only guess that something not-so-pleasant happened.

Elias and his roommate, along with the Orlem boy, were apparently searching for her also. None of us could find her. It drew near to curfew time, and I told the three of them to go to bed—I'd keep searching, because my status as Prefect allowed me to be out after hours. I swung by the girls dorm, but the dormmother hadn't seen her, and when she went and got Selene's roommate, the Nile girl, it turned out that she hadn't seen Selene earlier—but was as worried as I'd become, because she'd heard what happened in class from someone. I thanked her and left. I went out on the path to the lake, and was halfway there when I heard someone up ahead. It was almost that exact moment between the end of day and the beginning of night: true twilight.

" _Hello?_ " I called, " _Who's there_?" I hurried up the path, and lo and behold, it was Selene. I rushed to her and gripped her by the shoulders, " _Are you okay?_ " She looked up at me, like she hadn't noticed me until I grabbed her. Her normally bright, happy eyes were hollow and empty. Her face held no emotion, and all the color was drained from her face. I felt an onslaught of worry strike my heart. " _Selene? Selene, what happened?_ "

" _Nothing_." her voice sounded dead and dry, lifeless.

" _That's a lie. What happened?_ "

" _Nothing I want to talk about_." She shook my hands off her shoulders, and continued walking towards the dorm. I stared after her, shocked. Never had I _ever_ seen her act anything like this. It made me more worried than I'd want to admit.

I caught up with her hand put my hand on her shoulder. I didn't say anything, but just walked with her. She let my hand stay where it was. What in this world—or in the other world—had happened?

We went all the way to the girls dorm without saying a word. I stopped her in front of it, " _Selene, if you're not going to tell me what's wrong, I'm going to say I'm willing to listen when you're willing to tell me, okay? People are worried._ I'm _worried. Okay?"_

Her face was still as blank and empty as it had been when I found her, but she nodded before entering the dorm.

I sure hope nothing too bad happened. Perhaps by tomorrow she'd be back to normal.

I sincerely doubted that thought.

Third Person POV

The next morning, Selene was gone. According to the word of her roommate, she'd come back a little after curfew, but was acting really strange. Hollow, even. Like she was empty. Isa couldn't get her to tell her what was going on. Selene just came back to the room and started mechanically packing. Not everything, but just a few things. She said she was leaving for the weekend and left, completely disregarding the curfew.

When Klaus heard, he panicked. No one could see it (barring Elias, who doesn't count when it comes to seeing through Klaus' mask because he knows his brother too well), but he was freaking out on the inside with worry. He went to the headmaster, who had apparently let her leave and set up a world-transfer for her to be able to return to Terra that night. When he returned from that meeting, Elias found him and questioned him as he discovered his brother was doing his own packing.

Klaus' POV

" _Are you sure you should be going after her, Klaus?_ " Elias said, " _I mean, I'm as worried as you are, but shouldn't you at least wait until Monday? She's probably coming back then."_

I sighed, " _I can't be sure about that. You didn't see her, Elias. I did. She looked empty, Elias. Empty."_

" _What_?"

" _She seemed to have nothing inside of her. She showed absolutely no emotion, and when have you ever known her to not show emotion? Something was clearly wrong. Elias, never in my life have I been this worried_." I saw his eyes widened as I look at him, dead serious (A/N: Well. That's an unfortunate choice of wording...).

" _You are, aren't you?_ " Elias' facial expression went from surprised to understanding, " _Is there anything you want me to do? Prefect work or whatnot?"_

I thought. I wasn't sure how long I'd be gone, but better safe than sorry. My World Cultures class was last week (the teacher apparently had a special conference in the capital next week, so the class had been moved up a week), so I don't have to worry about that for another month. My other two classes are only once a week, and are more than easy to catch up on. " _Thank you. I'll let the headmaster know to direct any prefect work to you while I'm gone."_

He nodded, " _Make sure she's okay, please."_

Both of us depended on Selene more than we'd care to admit. We both knew it all to well. I'd do anything to make Selene happy, and not just because I'm in love with her. She's my friend. And she's one of the few people I can say that about.

…. …. ….

As it turned out, I wasn't able to leave as quickly as I'd hoped. The headmaster did help me, and told me the situation. Selene's oldest brother had been killed in an accident on his way home on Friday. Oh Selene...that explained it. She had been in shock, and of course the death of the man who was practically her father would hurt her so.

Nonetheless, I wasn't able to get permission to get a transfer over to Terra until I got a passport and passed a language test (you had to know the language of the country you're going to well enough to be able to converse). Thank goodness the Goldstein name holds weight (allowing the passport papers to go through in about twenty four hours) and that I'd been doing a self study of English. I still wasn't able to make the transfer until Sunday evening.

There was also the matter I didn't know where she lived. The headmaster assured me that with the paper he gave me, which held a note and the school's official stamp, I'd be able to ask a secretarial worker on the other side. Apparently address was needed to gain a passport from that side, and anyone who went though had the passport data stored in some sort of Terran technology—it was pretty carefully kept track of, where the magical families lived. It had to be that way, because of the fact that for most in that world believed it wasn't real. It was a very secretive business, but a necessary one to prevent mass panic.

Thankfully, the headmaster understood that I was worried about my 'buddy' and friend, and allowed me to go, and understood that I might possibly miss some school next week and that all prefect duties were to be passed onto Elias. It wouldn't be to hard for my brother to handle, only having to do the things that were the requirements for a prefect. The reason I had so much work was that I went above and beyond with it and did far more than I needed to. There were also no major school events where I'd need to help with as prefect, so he'd be set.

Throughout all of this, I couldn't rid myself of the growing sense of urgency and panic I felt. There was this feeling that I needed to go find her, that something very, very bad would happen if I didn't. And frankly, this scared me.

…. …. ….

I made it to the other side. The building in Myula felt a bit more relaxed, not so perfectionist oriented. The building in Terra, on the other hand, was all perfect angles and colors. It also had several strange devices. When I made it to the front desk, I noticed the lady was using—from what I could tell from Selene's descriptions—a device known as a "computer".

"Excuse me, ma'am." I said, my voice not sounding nearly so smooth as Selene's always did when she spoke in English. My words were also a little choppy and broken (A/N for the most part, I'm not going to bother making his speech look like it sounds because that would take far more work to write and read that I'm willing to do at this point, though I'll probably keep his vocabulary more simple...so just imagine he doesn't sound like an American, please, and you can use whatever accent you wish. Oh, and just so you know, there was a little something that slipped into Klaus' bag while he wasn't looking back in Myula.:)

The lady looked up, peering over her spectacles. "May I help you?"

"I need the address of a family that lives in this country...America." I corrected. I pulled out and handed her the letter from the headmaster, "I am her buddy from the Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy and was given permission to come to this world for confidential reasons. She came through the transfer a few days ago. Her last name is Fonix."

The lady scanned the letter, then pressed several buttons on the symbol-covered board of the computer, "You're in luck, my boy. There's only one person who came up in our databases—Selene Celeste Fonix?"

I nodded.

The lady's brow furrowed, "Ah, it seems that since she's a minor still in the country where she lives, and her address will have to be located through her guardian. What would the name be?"

"Johnathan Fonix...wait. I think he has a different last name. I'm not sure I know it." I couldn't help the catch in my voice, though the lady probably put it down to accent. It wasn't, though. It was because

"Hmm…" The lady moved two fingers up on a little pad beneath the buttons, "Aha. It says her guardian is Johnathan March. Here we go, let me look him up." March. What was that in my language? I'd have to ask. It sounded familiar. "Oh. It seems he's now deceased, and recently too. Is that why she came back?"

I nodded stiffly.

"Poor dear. It's always hard to lose a family member. But this still has the address." She pulled out a small square pad of paper similar to ones Selene used a lot. "Sticky notes" I believe she called them. She carefully wrote down something that incorporated numbers and words. "Have you ever been to this world before?"

"No, ma'am."

"Then I'd better call you a ride. I doubt the setup of things here will make sense to you. Just wait a few minutes and I'll have someone come who can teleport you there, seeing as you won't be able to go through more normal methods." She sighed, then picked up something and put it to her ear, pressing a few buttons on the thing it was attached too. Then she started to speak into it, and I thought that maybe it was some sort of "phone" like the one Selene had, but an older, non-portable kind. When she set the phone down, she motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs that lined the room, "You'll know when he gets here. He's pretty conspicuous."

I thanked her and took a seat. Soon enough, a man who was whistling came skipping into the room and over to the desk. "Ya asked for me, Millie?"

"Yes, now calm down. You need to transport that man to this address." She handed the man the note and pointed to me.

…. …. ….

I opened my eyes to find myself standing in the middle of a gravel road surrounded by forest, all of it dusted in snow. Selene had said at one point that there were several acres of forest around her home, because it made it easier to hide magical practice. I knew that with most people, transporting things, especially living things, was difficult and usually was a little off of an exact location. This was probably the path to the house. I slung my bag over my shoulders, pulled my coat tighter around me, and started walking.

A few minutes later, I passed by a spot that was clearly wreckage. There were scattered objects and torn up and shredded trees and other plant life. It seemed recent, judging by the disturbed snow, and I wondered if it had anything to do with Selene's brother's death. I hoped not.

A few more minutes and I came upon a large house surrounded by a vast yard. No where near as large as my family's main or country estates, but definitely large enough for Selene's impossibly big family. I steeled myself and walked up to the door. Knocking, I hoped someone friendly opened the door, then chided myself—this was Selene's family, they weren't likely to be rude.

I released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding when Merlin opened the door.

* * *

Katalina: Elias! Did you hear? Our story's out!

Elias: Yes, I heard. It took Authoress long enough.

Katalina: Hey! Don't be so hard on her! She follows a schedule! She finished it almost a month ago. But if she posted Elemental any faster than she already does, she'd run out of prewritten chapters and postings would become inconsistent. And that would irritate her, because she doesn't want to disappear for months on end before having a burst of writing done and able to post. This is the best way for her to do it!

Elias (*sighing*): Yes, yes, I know. I've just been antsy for it to be out and done with. It's embarrassing. If I had my way, she wouldn't be posting it at all.

Katalina: Just remember that she can take me away at any time, Elias. Sun knows she's threatened Klaus about taking Selene away enough times.

Elias: I know…

Authoress: So don't try and smack talk me behind my back, dear Eli'.

Elias (who nearly jumped out of his skin): Authoress! When did you get here?

Authoress (*giggle*): I've been here the whole time, silly! Oh, and when the Elemental Spiral goes through edits to make it original stories I can publish, your name, Elias, will be Elliot.

Elias: What now?!

Authoress: I'll say more later. Bye now~!

Elias: Wait! Authoress! Get back here and explain!


	64. Midwinter (Christmas) Special 2016

Okay, just so you all know, this takes place approximately in the middle of the beginning (or the beginning of the middle) of Elemental Book 2, Halfling. There won't be any spoilers (I hope) and I'll try not to make you guys confused. A little backstory:

At this point, Selene's been through a lot and she's still exhausted. She's finally back at the academy, though, about a week into Winter Break (she's got a lot of catching up to do), which is about three-four weeks (I haven't quite decided yet). There won't be many of the other characters (excepting Klaus, of course) who are involved, and they'll only be mentioned in passing.

Oh, and unlike many of the other specials, this one will be in first person. And it won't be all that long either...but I like the way it ended.

* * *

Midwinter (Christmas) Special 2016

I'm back. The academy looks just how I left it, only with less people—it was practically abandoned at the moment. It's only a little colder, and unlike back home, there's no snow. I'm perfectly fine with that.

I'm wandering through the edges of the school. Philyra is back in our dorm room, and I've yet to meet Elias' new buddy (and, apparently, his new girlfriend) as she and Elias aren't getting back from her place until tomorrow.

I notice a poster on one of the boards, all flashy. It's advertising a dance that took place at the very beginning of the Midwinter break, about a week ago. Ha. Just missed it, didn't I. And while I'm not unhappy with not having to get all fancied up—because of course it had been a formal dance, unlike the one back at Halloween—I'm kind of sorry I missed it. It would've been fun, being able to hang out with my friends, and of course, it would've been nice to dance with Klaus.

I find myself in front of the auditorium, where the dance was held. I open the door and walk inside, leaving it open behind me to illuminate the dark room. The completely empty dark room. No leftover decorations, no mess. Perks of being a magical school.

"What are you doing here?"

Klaus. I don't even turn around, "There was a dance. I missed it, by a little bit."

"You did. It's not such a big deal. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just kind of wish I would've had the chance to dance with you, you know? I bet you suck at dancing." It's a half-hearted tease and we both know it.

I hear him walk up behind me and feel his arms wrap around me waist as he whispers into my ear, "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Hate to burst your bubble, but I happen to be an expert at ballroom dancing."

"Would you like to prove it?"

"In the silence of the dark ballroom?"

"Sure. Why not. But it doesn't have to be silent." I pulled my phone out from my skirt's waistband and unlocked it, tapping it a couple of times as Klaus watched me over my shoulder. A few seconds later, a slow waltz or sorts started to play. I removed herself from Klaus arms and leaned the phone against a pillar before turning and walking back over to him.

Klaus smiled slightly, holding out his hand to me, "Might I have this dance, milady?"

"You might." I took his hand and squeezed it gently. He brought it to his lips and tenderly kissed the back of it, never breaking eye contact.

I put my free hand on his shoulder and he put his on my waist. He led us through the slow one-two-three-four steps of the classic waltz.

…. …. ….

We danced that night for almost two hours, going from one slow song to the next. We ended up just swaying as I leaned on his chest. After everything that had happened in the past month or so, I couldn't really remember the last time I felt so relaxed, so at ease and peaceful.

Or so in love.


	65. Chapter 48

Hey! Surprise, surprise! I'm actually going to be posting another new story soon. Cursed Wizardess (Heart) comes out with Chapter 50. And then there'll be another one—Warrior Wizardess (Heart), my Luca x OC (Marelda) pairing story. I'm trying to figure that one out still, but it's going to happen a lot sooner than I had originally planned. I'm posting the prologue with this chapter. Go check it out. :)

And did everyone have a wonderful Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanaka/whatever else you may or may not celebrate? I hope you enjoyed the Midwinter Special I posted yesterday.

Sybbie: Aw, I love responding to your reviews. They're so awesome it's hard not to! As for all the things in Klaus' POV, I'm glad you liked that. There are several reasons I used him. One: I decided that he needed a little more of his POV in the story, and he's going to get in in Book Two. Two: I couldn't figure out how I'd write it from Selene's POV, and it just made a lot more sense to do it from Klaus' POV. As for your English, it's pretty awesome. Until you actually told me, I didn't even know you were a non native. I tried learning a second language and failed miserable, so I admire anyone who's able to learn more than their first language. And if you feel insecure about your English skills, just practice, because I know very well how much that helps. As for vocabulary, use thesaurus . com to find synonyms. A couple months ago I learned that the English language has over 600,000 words and counting, so there's always several synonyms for most every word. As for the joy and pain balance, I must say that I'm a huge believer in the belief that everything has it balance, be it noticeable in the short or long term. Kind of like Selene. She's got that belief as well. It's a good reminder that helps one get through life.

* * *

Chapter 48

" _Klaus!_ " Merlin exclaimed, " _What are you doing here?_ "

"I was worried about Selene." I replied in English. "She wasn't in a good state when she up and left all of a sudden. And I heard about Johnathan. I'm so sorry."

He smiled wryly, "Don't let you Selene hear you apologize. She hates it when people apologize for things they couldn't do anything about."

"I know. But you're not Selene. Speaking of her, is she here?"

He shook his head, "No, but come on in. She should be back sooner or later. She's visiting the hospital today."

I followed him in, and asked him what a hospital. No use in pretending I know things I don't.

"It's where people in Terra go for healing. Of course, it's all non magic. But modern Terran technology can often rival it, it seems." From when I had last seen him, those couple months ago, Merlin was subdued, and distracted, "Normally, the hospital is about twenty minutes from here, but that's by car. Selene's refused to get in one since she got back, and so she walked the forty minutes, even in this weather. Not that anyone can blame her. Oh, and cars are like a horseless carriage and are powered by mechanics and fuel or electric energy. They're quite convenient for traveling, especially when you can't use magic." He went on to further explain cars to me. I listened, offering the occasional nod or noise of understanding. I'd figured out that Merlin was just distracting himself. He led me to a kitchen, and his car description ended, "Are you hungry? I could also make hot chocolate or something."

I said that sounded nice, and he went to work. I offered to help but he declined. "Is anyone else home?" I asked as he ladled steaming water from a large pot on a stove.

"Inan, Ria, and Daren are holed up in his room taking a nap. Eric is in the north attic with his girlfriend, cleaning, just to have something to do. Felicia is also looking for ways to revive people in a coma. The rest are at the hospital. Cynthia is still comatose, and Galvin has a broken arm. Elvy is fine, though, thank the sun." The names all sounded familiar from stories and such I'd heard from Selene.

"Do you all say that?"

He looked up from the mug in which he was stirring with a thin spoon. "Say what?"

"'Thank the sun.' Selene says it all the time."

"We picked it up from her. In our family, oftentimes our quirks end up becoming the quirks of the others." He smiled slightly, a little lost in his thoughts. "Selene in particular has more quirks than anyone will ever know. She's a special duck."

I gave him a confused look.

"Another family term. That one came from our mother."

I shook my head, "I've heard it before. My own mother uses it on occasion, mostly when we were younger."

"Well, our mother was originally from Myula, so maybe they knew each other or something."

That was something I didn't know. But, given the circumstances, I knew it'd be rude to pry.

Merlin handed me a cup, and went to stirring his own, "It's Selene's special blend. She always makes it better somehow—I don't even think it's got anything to do with her magic—but her prepared powder is better than any other. We've always got a pot of water on the stove throughout the cold months. She always makes what seems to be a couple hundred pounds of it every year, yet somehow we're nearly out by the time she reaches the next summer. She does hate the cold. It was surprising that she was willing to walk forty minutes in eighteen degrees."

"It's not surprising. It actually makes more sense than driving would." Said a quiet voice. The two in the kitchen jumped and turned to see a tall, somewhat pale man with the same brown hair and eyes that Merlin had.

"Inan! I thought you were sleeping." Merlin said, "This is Klaus, Selene's buddy from school. He was worried so he came to check on her."

"Kind of you." The man, Inan, said, "Thank you for caring about her so much." He moved to the stove and began making his own coco, "As for sleeping, I haven't gotten much of that lately."

"Klaus, if you haven't guessed by now, this is Inan. He's brother number four."

"Do you all refer to each other with numbers?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Only when someone doesn't know the entire family that well or when we're doing a headcount." Merlin replied, "There's quite a lot of us, and more only seem to be added all the time."

I nodded, then looked at Inan, "So why won't she ride in these car contraptions?" No need to clarify who she was.

"Johnathan died in a car accident." He said simply, "And Selene was there."

"There?" I was confused, "She was in Myula, not Terra. How could she have been here?"

"Not physically." Inan's voice was airy and vague-sounding in general, like he was eternally lost in thought. Selene had mentioned that this particular brother specialized in divination and the like, and was far better at it than Selene was and would ever be. "You know how she has the predicting dreams that can, in a way, tell the near future, do you not?"

"I do."

"Selene was having one of those in class apparently during a lesson of dream divining last Friday. From what she'd told Matthias, she was seeing out of Johnathan's eyes as he was driving home, more observing than anything. She was there, or her consciousness was, when the accident occurred." My eyes widened—I hadn't known that. He continued on to say, "And when she woke up, she got ahold of Matthias and he calmed her down a bit and said he was going to go check just to ease her fears. Then there was the sound of the crash. So you should be able to understand why she wouldn't want to get in a car."

I was horrified. No wonder Selene had been so in shock when I found her. She was pretty much with her brother when he died, almost a part of him. That would traumatize anyone.

"I talked to her yesterday, after everyone went to bed." He added calmly, "Neither of us could sleep. She's convinced something—or someone—killed him."

I almost choked on my sip of hot chocolate. "Huh?!" Merlin looked as surprised as I did.

"What do you mean, something killed him?" Merlin exclaimed, "The car slipped on ice!"

"She said that in her dream, something slammed into the side of the car out of nowhere. Something with a presence so strong it threw her physical self from her seat. 'Something definitely hit the car,' she said, 'ice wouldn't have had such a strong aura. Something hit the car, and on purpose.' She was most sure." Inan shook his head, "The worst thing is, I think she's right. My magic sensed it, too."

Merlin looked aghast, "Who would've wanted to kill Johnathan? He was one of the nicest people I know. He had no actual enemies."

"Maybe someone wanted to get at one of his family members." I blurted before I could think. Crap. Time to continue. "Has anyone else in the family gotten on the wrong side of someone dangerous and/or powerful?"

They both thought about it. "Not as far as I can tell." Merlin said, "I mean, Wade has a lot of sports rivals, but not to the murderous extent, and they're mostly friendly. But there's no blood feuds or anything. The people in our family either are good with others, or keep to themselves."

Inan still hadn't said anything. He looked even deeper in thought. "I wonder...excuse me…" and he wandered off without another word. I looked after him, bemused.

Merlin sighed, "Aaand...we lost him." Merlin tried to sound lighthearted and joking, but his heart wasn't in it. I could tell he was worried, and this new information bothered him. It bothered me too. Merlin started talking about something unrelated, "And I haven't managed to tell Selene that her wolf is dead and her fox is missing. I didn't have the heart, after she rushed home looking like she did. She's so distracted she hasn't even noticed. Her wolf, Alva, got caught in a snowstorm about two weeks ago and froze to death, poor thing. The fox, Arian, we haven't seen since soon after. We think it ran off. Neither of the two really liked anyone but Selene, anyhow, but she did care a good deal about them. I can't bear breaking the news now, after Friday..." He went on, just talking for the sake of filling the heavy silence.

But I couldn't stop thinking about it. I had an irrational, nagging feeling that it all had something to do with Selene. Selene's dream. Selene's rushing back to Terra. The fact that Selene was closer to this particular brother than any of her other ones. But none of it made much sense. Everyone seemed to love her, and I can't think of anyone who'd want to do her harm.

And in all actuality, I should assume it was an accident. A coincidence. Just like most everyone else.

But Selene is constantly reminding everyone that assumptions can kill.

And maybe this time they did.

Selene's POV

I was no longer in shock. Just beneath the surface, hidden from view, I was seething with rage. There was something going on, something really suspicious. I told everyone (I was the only one who walked, they all trailed me in a car) that I was going to go on a walk in the woods to clear my head once we reached the house and handed my bag to Matthias. Quickly walking into the woods, away from the house, from people, I was free to think. I was so angry the cold didn't seem to be able to reach me. Normally, in this sort of weather, I'd be comfortably curled up with a cup of cocoa and cocooned inside a mountain of blankets and sitting by a roaring fire. But with the heat boiling beneath my skin, I couldn't even feel the cold.

I was still in numerous layers of cold-weather gear, though. No use in making myself unable to chase my suspicions.

Some killed Johnathan. On purpose.

Why? I don't know.

How, I do know.

Who? Another thing I don't know.

But I will know.

Klaus' POV

A good deal of people came into the house, all solem, even the children. One of them, maybe ten, had an arm in a sling. I wondered briefly why they couldn't just use magic to heal it, but remembered that magic was supposed to be secret here, and the sudden healing of something so major would have raised some red flags. Selene also mentioned at one point that it was harder to use magic in Terra, that you had to use more energy for a spell than you would in Myula. She speculated that it was because magic wasn't natural to Terra, like it was to Myula. Therefore, it required more energy to call up the magic. It made sense, really. She usually did, even when she didn't.

Merlin introduced me and explained my presence to everyone, and they all welcomed me. I suspected that it was a very subdued welcome, from what I'd heard from Selene about how loud her family usually is. They had every right to be subdued, though, considering recent events.

When Merlin asked where Selene was, the two of us were informed that she'd gone on a walk. He and I shared a worried look when Matthias mentioned that she seemed angry. Not visibly enough for most people to tell, but any of her brothers could clearly recognise it. Selene was convinced someone murdered her brother. And to me, at the least, it was clear she was scheming of how to figure out who it was and take them down. I'm sure Merlin was thinking the exact same thing.

Soon, people filtered out with cups of cocos, all tired of the day. Eventually, it was only me, and Merlin.

"I hope she doesn't get too angry," Merlin muttered tensely, "if she does, it won't end well."

"Huh?" I stupidly asked for clarification in that one word.

"She hadn't told you then, hmm?"

"Told me what?"

He sighed and looked at the ceiling, "It's happened a total of seven times. When her eyes turn gold, you know she's very, very, _very_ mad. She'll quite literally explode in a storm of fire, and it's like her magical energy literally bursts from the seams of her control. It's extremely destructive and dangerous. The first time it happened, she was seven. Some kid was making fun of our mother a few months after she died and Selene lost it. The kid was eight. And she put him in the hospital with severe near-third-degree burns. A magic team from the Terran Ministry of Magic had to come and do damage control, healing the kid and erasing the memories of all the regs—regular non-magic people—involved. It was bad. And, after Selene calmed down, she was unconscious for two days and woke up with no memory of what had occurred."

The second time it happened was a little over a year later, though no one was hurt. The last five times happened between the ages ten to fourteen. All those she managed to make it to a certain part of the forest, where she'd practice her magic. It's all fireproofed there to keep her from accidentally burning the woods down, but those explosions are something else. The spells in place managed to keep it in the courtyard, but it always reduced anything inside the boundaries to ashes. She's not had another incident in almost two years."

She's scared of it happening, and had worked really hard to keep her temper in check. It's never made much sense—nothing of the sort has ever happened to the rest of us. Only her. And she never remembers what happened after her eyes change, no matter how hard she tries—and trust me, she's tried most of everything."

We've always, well, most of us have always, put it down to the fact that she's a fire elementress, and fire is the most difficult element to control. Wind is more unpredictable, but it's not so easily destructive. Water is more of a long-term kind of power, along with earth, which takes a long time to build to such a destructive force—but fire, fire burns things quickly, eating and eating until there's nothing left or it's stopped. It has it's uses, but when it loses control it's the most dangerous element, even when faced with water."

He paused, "I can't blame her for not telling anyone at the academy. It's her biggest shame, in her mind. No matter what we tell her, she still feels really guilty for hurting that kid, all those years ago. We haven't even seen him since then—his family moved because his father got promoted or something. But she still can't get over that."

Woah. It's hard to believe that she carried such a burden. She's pretty much the happiest person I know, and never seemed to be bothered by much of anything. She laughs more than anyone I know, and enjoys life past the fullest extent. And she just becomes more and more amazing the more I learn about her. Her strength is an inspiration; just because she's got her own burdens and fears doesn't mean she's any less strong. If anything, it makes her more human.

If only at that point, I could've known the irony of my own thought.

* * *

Authoress: Things got deep, and they're going to stay like that for a while. Guys, after this we only have 11 more chapters to go. Can you believe it?

Selene: Remember back when I was first thought up? It was going to be a sappy love story for Klaus and I, and end with my acceptance.

Authoress: Oh yeah, back when you and this story were just a thought process in my head, it was going to be waaaaaaay different. You were going to be entirely human, no guy past Serge would've been included, if Serge would've been included at all; not to mention, you were going to be such a Mary Sue. Oh, gosh, it would've been terrible. I'm so happy it didn't end up like that.

Selene: I didn't realize it would get this long, either. I certainly didn't think it'd have to be broken up into books.

Authoress: It's crazy, isn't it? Oh, on a completely unrelated note, I'm thinking I might know who to pair Aurora with.

Selene: Oo! Pray tell.

Authoress: Well, I'm part way through Guy's route, and I'm thinking he and Rory would be a good fit. His laid-back carefree manner with her snark—they'd be a good match.

Selene: Hm. I think your right. I'm excited to see how it turns out. ;)

Authoress: You'll see it eventually, once your story is done.

Selene: Can't wait!


	66. Chapter 49

First and foremost, I'm sorry. I meant to post a New Years chapter this year and it just didn't happen. I had the idea, still have the idea, but I never got around to typing it up. I was so unproductive over my two weeks of winter break. However, I'll use my idea as next years once I get around to typing it up.

And that'll be after this week, and probably not for a little while. It's portfolio week! I've got my College Writing quarter portfolio due Thursday and my Honours English quarter portfolio due Friday, so I'm super busy. I'm hoping to get some work done next week. I really need to get the next chapter of Warrior done. That's story is pretty much the top priority at this point because it's the only one not caught up with the timeline, and I'm going to need it to be caught up before I can go much further with Elemental, because I need Marelda and Luca (oh will I need Luca for that—all I'm going to say it there's a huge plot twist and there was the smallest bit of foreshadowing in a previous chapter) for the next plot arc after I finish the small one I'm on. So, yeah, Warrior is top priority.

On a different note: Review Replies!

Guest: Yeah, we'll see Arian the fox for a brief moment in this chapter, but never again after this chapter. And my Christmas was marvelous, thank you!

Sybbie: This has become a regular thing, hasn't it? :3 We'll get some of Klaus' POV again in this chapter. It'll be alternating between Klaus and Selene for the rest of the book, really. Selene's POV's are brief though, because I was having trouble writing her. She's super serious and focused on serious things, and it's hard for me to write from her POV without making random, unrelated thoughts that come from the Seleneverse. And don't worry, you do really well with the English. And it was Spanish I tried (and failed) to learn. And you learning that much, even if it was school required, is impressive. Might I ask which country you are from? And we all should be worried about Selene. S**t's about to hit the fan. Badly. She's not going to burn anything...yet. That'll come a handful of chapters in the future. But it'll eventually get better. Promise.

Without further ado, onto the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 49

Klaus' POV

"I think I'm going to go find her." I stood up and pushed in the stool I'd been using. "If she is really angry, I might be able to calm her down. Besides, I need to check when she's coming back to the academy. Prefect duties and all."

Merlin nodded, a little out of it as he stared into the bottom of his empty mug. "Stick to the main path in the back. She's most likely along that. I wouldn't stray from the path if you can't help it. Our woods are full of areas where we have accidentally enchanted them and haven't figured out how to break the magic. Some are...less than safe, particularly when you don't know which ones. Good for trespassers, though." I nodded and thanked him.

"Do you mind if I leave my bag here?"

"Go ahead."

I pulled out my wand and put it in the pocket of the coat Selene stitched on a month or so ago—the girl was a fair hand at sewing, among other things. ' _What can't she do?'_ is a question I often thought of. But I know how she'd answer. She'd start listing her faults—with most people, it would be overly modest or something, but she accepted she had faults and strengths and moved on with her life—or start joking about how she was _absolutely_ perfect. It was one of the things I loved about her.

And I still hadn't managed to tell her that I was in love with her. I'd chickened out every time I was about to. No longer would I mentally make fun of the people who never managed to confess their love—it's a lot harder when you're the one trying to do it. A whole lot harder.

Walking around the house, I found the path Merlin had mentioned. I began going down the small forest road, following footprints that made clear breaks in the three inches of hard-topped snow—clearly a result of the sun melting it and the cold refreezing it when the sun disappears. It kind of made me think of Selene, in a way. She had a hard, pretty shell, but it could be broken, and had been broken last Friday. And I don't think there's been a fresh snowfall to fix it yet. Ha. I'm comparing the fire wizardess to snow. Ha. I'm as off topic as she is.

I speed up, but am still careful. She's got quite a bit of a head start, and I've got a really bad feeling that keeps getting stronger. And I swear that I keep seeing a small flash out of the corner of my eye, but nothing's there. It's most likely just a reflection off of the ice on the barren trees. Only there's not much sunlight left. But it is angled light because the sun it setting. That's probably all it is.

I find Selene leaning against a tree at the edge of the courtyard. "Selene!" I call, causing the girl, who was deep in thought, to jump.

"Klaus? _What the heck? How'd you get here?_ " She pushes herself up and comes over to me.

"I got a passport." I responded simply.

She shook her head, " _I suppose I should ask you why you're here. And how in_ tarnation _are you speaking English?_ "

"I've been teaching myself for the past few months—I originally wanted to surprise you." I said, a bit embarrassed.

She laughed. It wasn't her usual laugh; this one was tainted—like something was binding it, restraining it a bit. But it was still a laugh. She shook her head, "It could use some fine tuning, but it's not bad for being self-taught. Not bad at all. Now," she looked at me, a single brow raised. "would you mind telling my why you're here?"

"I was worried about you." I admitted. Her face fell ever so slightly before her carefree mask reinforced itself. "And, as the prefect and your buddy, I need to know when you're going to be coming back to school. I presume it'll be after the funeral next Tuesday?" Merlin had informed me of the date and said I was welcome to stay until after then, to help out with Selene.

She shook her head, "I can't go back Klaus."

I froze, wide-eyed, then laughed nervously, "What do you mean, you can't?"

"Let me rephrase that—I won't be going back until Cynthia wakes up." She sighed, "Klaus, you must understand that Cynthia pretty much raised me half my life. Johnathan was pretty much my father, as you know. And they've got two children—two of my nephews. Galvin and Elvy. Ages ten and six. Elvy doesn't understand that his dad is gone," her voice caught, and she had to swallow before continuing, "And Galvin, oh Galvin, he's trying so hard to be strong for his little brother. I can't just leave the two of them, with their father killed"—I noted how she used that instead of dead, reinforcing her belief that someone (or thing) killed Johnathan—"and their mother trapped in a sleeping death. I have to take care of them. It's the least I can do for my late brother. He took care of me. I owe it to him to look after his children and make sure they're not by themselves. I know that the others would look after them. But they've got their own lives and families, and out of all my relatives, I've got the least to lose by stepping up." Her voice got quieter, and she looked at the dull sky, "And even without all those reasons, I'd still do it. Those two need me. I love them, and they deserve better than to be passed around between family members. They're wonderful little boys, and I'm going to make sure that neither of them have to grow up too fast because of all this." She looked me straight in the eye, determined, "You won't be able to sway me. I'm not leaving them until their mother wakes up or they've grown up. I'm sorry Klaus. I really am." She gave me a look that begged me to understand. But I couldn't. I didn't want to. I know it was selfish. I do.

Why did she always have to be so self-sacrificing? My inner voice wailed as my heart constricted. But I nodded, knowing all too well why, "If you won't be swayed, I won't argue. It's your choice, Selene. But just know that you'll always have a place back at the academy, okay?" And with me, I so desperately wanted to add. But she knew nothing of my feelings. It was too late to tell her. I couldn't do that to her, not now. Merlin, Elias, they were right. I should've confessed while I had the chance, a chance I no longer have. Could I have swayed her if I had told her earlier? Yes. No. Maybe. I don't have a clue.

She gave me a weak smile, "Thank you, Klaus." She took a deep breath and exhaled, "I'm going to continue my walk, if you'll excuse me.

"Would you like some company?" I asked.

She shook her head lightly, "No thank you. I've got some thinking to do. I'll see you when I get back to the house, okay?"

I nodded stiffly, hoping it didn't look that way, and turned to leave.

"And Klaus?" I stopped at her call, "Thank you, for coming and all." I smiled bitterly, since she couldn't see. The bitterness was all aimed at myself. I continued walking, taking my time, and heard her soft footfalls make crunches in the snow, heading the other way.

And I walked my slow pace for a few minutes, thinking about nothing in particular or anything of any importance.

Then I heard the shriek from the direction behind me.

Selene.

Selene's POV

As I was walking away from Klaus, feeling miserable. I do want to go back to the academy. Badly. Oh so badly. But I can't let myself. I'd never forgive myself if I neglected my nephews. They needed someone who could focus just on them. They needed me. And, in a different way, I needed them.

Galvin looked so much like Johnathan did when he was younger. His hair is a bit darker, but they are the same in every other way. He's even got the silver eyes. The eyes only I and Jonny inherited from our mother—all our other brothers have their father's eyes—the eyes Galvin got from his father. I would care for him and his brother. They deserved it. I owed it to Jonny and myself to do it. It was easy to forget I was merely the half-sibling, the only one with a different father, a different last name. No one cared about that. I don't care about it. It wasn't a fact that could be changed, and none of us bothered with it. Most of the time, it was a detail that completely slipped everyone's, mine not excluded, minds. We were a tight-knit family, and nothing will ever change that.

Is it possible to feel old and ancient at nearly seventeen? Because I certainly felt that way, and wasn't sure if I liked it or not. But I think I'm leaning towards the latter. Being grown up is a lot harder than it seems when you're still little. I can't believe I ever wanted to grow up.

I started as a light weight landed on my shoulders, but calmed quickly upon realizing it was Arian, who promptly curled himself about my shoulders like a scarf—which, conveniently, I had neglected to wear due to the fact that my coat buttoned to my chin. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen either of my familiars since I got home. "Hey bud." I reached up and stroked his head with a gloved finger. "Did you want to get away, too?" Of course, he didn't answer. I wondered where Alva was.

And the cold was finally starting to reach me. Since seeing Klaus—oh Klaus—my anger had dissipated. I could almost literally feel it sapping away at my strength as adrenaline faded from my system. I would have to go back to the house soon unless I wished to cause my own premature death from frostbite.

And my trains of thought all derailed as I reached _the_ clearing. Another thing I wouldn't be able to forgive myself of. Jack. It was that same overflowing storm of magical energy that had five times destroyed this clearing that had hurt Jack so badly. I never did tell Klaus about that particular, ah, _quirk_ of mine. But in all honesty, I myself had all but forgotten, it's been so long since I've literally blown. I smile grimly as I remember the fight I had with Klaus, back in that first week of my trial—the closest I had come to losing it in nearly two years. I'd have to tell him about that when I went back to the academy. If I ever go back.

I gained a lump on my throat at that thought.

And shook my head to clear it as I stepped into the middle of the snowy clearing. I could feel the residue of a strong magic here—mine, yet not. A part of myself that was separate from what I knew. I called a small strand of magic from deep within me—I'd forgotten just how much more effort it took to call upon magic in Terra—and used it to pull in some of the shards of my magic into me. This would enable me to stay away from the house for a little longer. I was almost scared to go back. Klaus was there. I wasn't scared of him, no, not at all. I was scared because I think I hurt him. He's got a master poker face, but even that cracked a bit when I told him I wasn't planning on going back to the academy. His surprise had mingled with the disappointment and...I'm not entirely sure, but I think it was hurt. I didn't mean to hurt him.

Then Arian launched himself off my shoulders, making a sound like ' _ack-ack-ack-ackawoooo-ack-ack-ack!_ '* I recognized that. It was a sound he made when he felt threatened and defensive. I whirled to see him hit a thing that looked like a huge winged snake, only it was it was made of water. What the crap?!

It grabbed Arian with it's mouth and flung him with inhuman strength against a tree, which Arian hit with a sickening sound. "NO!" I shrieked, running over to him and scrambling for my wand. But it wasn't in my pocket or waistband, and the thing snatched me backwards by the waist with it's long tail.

This was Terra and I keep my wand in my bag.

A bag that was back at the house.

I'm in trouble.

Crap.

Klaus' POV

I heard more yells and shrieks as I ran as fast as I could through the underbrush, taking a more direct route than the path. What Merlin said about staying on the path is irrelevant if Selene's in danger.

I burst into a clearing ringed by blackened, ice covered trees to find Selene thrashing in the grip of a flying serpent...made of water?

I whipped out my wand and was about to cast and ice spell to freeze it, but then remembered Selene was weakened by cold. I then cast a high-level fire spell, hoping to evaporate it—Selene wouldn't be burned. A wall of fire slammed into the pair and the creature hissed, dropping Selene in surprise. She scrambled away, towards a little pile of fur in the snow, quickly inspected it, then cried out, "Arian!" She got up and started to head towards me in a hurry, and I notice a tear that slipped out of one eye as I ran to meet her.

"Selene!" I grabbed her shoulders and inspected her, "Are you okay?"

She looked at me with wide eyes, "Are you? You're as white as milk!"

As soon as she mentioned it, I noticed that I was drained, and felt weak. She hadn't been kidding when she had told me that it required a lot more energy to work magic in Terra. I shook my head in an attempt to clear the stars at the corner of my eyes. Bad idea—it just made me dizzy. My heart and head pounded, my breath short. I had completely drained myself with one spell. I hadn't felt this lack of magical energy in years.

"Come on, we need to get back to the house before that thing comes back!" She slipped under my arm to support me as I stumbled. We didn't make it more than a hundred feet before she was yanked from under my arm. "Klaus!" She shrieked. I barely managed to grab her hand, but we were being pulled quite roughly upwards, and I dropped my wand because of it. I swore and tried to pull Selene back down, but the creature had it's tail firmly wrapped around her waist and she couldn't squirm free.

We rose nearly ten feet before the thing suddenly shook her and knocked me off. I hit the ground with a thud and watched helplessly through narrowing vision. I could hear my heartbeat as I watched small fireballs launch from somewhere, towards the creature. They were ineffectual. I wonder who was doing that. Selene didn't have her wand. " _Klaus_!" I could barely hear her scream before everything went bla…

* * *

*Note: The following answers from friends are based off of real things my friends have said (all at lunch, ironically)

Authoress: Hey-O! That ended badly. But this'll maybe be funny to help alleviate this a bit. I've got an unwilling guest, my friend who will be known as H, who's practically my sister! Say hi, H!

H (gives Authoress a deadpan look): No.

Authoress: Did I mention that we're the type of sisters where I'm the optimistic, hyper, talkative one, and she's the one who sassily rolls her eyes and puts up with me yet were somehow really good friends at the end of the day? It's kind of like Tamaki-senpai and Kyoya-senpai, from OHSHC.

H: No. Just no. Don't compare us to anime characters.

Authoress: She finds my otaku and fangirl nature to be annoying. But she grudgingly listens when I need to talk about one of my fandoms.

N: All fandoms are trash.

H (*slowly backs away* (she knows how defensive I get of my fandoms)

Authoress: HOW DARE YOU?! THEY ARE NOT TRASH, YOU TRASH!

N: Oh, but they are.

Authoress: NO THEY ARE NOT. YOU ARE NO LONGER MY FRIEND, YOU GIT!

N (*whining like the git he is*): But Authoress…!

Authoress: No! You will leave this story and never return! I am Authoress and I hold all the power within my created world! Away with thee!

Aurora: Didn't she once say she had no power in between chapters?

Selene: Only over the actual characters. She has some degree of power over outside things.

Authoress: Well, this should probably end. I've got to get back to actually focusing on school. Say bye H!

H (*sighs*): Bye.


	67. Chapter 50

Hey guys, it's been two weeks, so guess what that means! Postings for every story! I've managed to get to a nice point in Warrior, so that worry has decreased (I had a sudden huge burst of inspiration and wrote almost four whole chapters for it in two days).

And now, we've got another story being put up—Cursed Wizardess (Heart), featuring an OC named Philyra who will eventually end up with Yukiya! The first chapter of that is up (though I put its short prologue up last thursday). I hope you guys enjoy that one. It starts out pretty sad, and she's a completely new sort of character for me to write. I've been experimenting a lot with new kinds of main characters and the way I write different stories (I've been writing a lot more third person this school year than I ever have, seeing as first person is usually easier for me). But, I'm pretty proud of her backstory. It's a little Cinderella-eske, but I hope you guys like it.

Now, I should probably go and study, because first semester exams (sort of like first term) are starting Wednesday and I need to study for a few of them. Not most, but two of them (*cough*precalc*cough*honorsphysics*cough*). But I got these up before they started and don't really have to worry for another two weeks! Bye-bye now!

* * *

Chapter 50

Cadeyrn's POV

The palace had been so busy for the past few weeks that it seemed that there were lights on at all hours of the day and night. Even my quarters and workshop, in the most remote tower of the castle, in the furthermost back area of it, had visitors far too regularly for my comfort. I was most irritable—I liked the solitude and isolation from my fellow species. The majority were far too uppity, vain, and bumptious for my liking. Humans were far better nineteen times out of nineteen and a half. As well as more interesting and less predictable.

The reason for the hustle and bustle was the marriage of the crown prince's younger brother to some important princess. I hadn't paid attention the details, nor did I care to. This meant people streaming to the castle. And with more people, the more work I had as they demanded that the "King's toolmaker" fix this bauble or that charm. I was only the King's toolmaker in name—the majority of the time, I was left to my own devices and crafting. They didn't seem to care, though. Pesky things.

And with the chance of so many people who could (much to my exasperation) burst into my workshop at any moment, I was unable to monitor Selene hardly at all, and hadn't been able to once in the past week. But she seemed happy, so it could've been worse. Not much had changed in the past few months—much to my joy, she'd been accepted to the academy. She'd be safe there, surrounded by magic. In Terra, no one would think to look for her, but in Myula she might be noticed. Such a strong gathering of human magic, such as the academy she attended, would conceal any of her other natures that leaked through. In addition, being there made her happy, which made me happy. I noticed that she seemed to be getting closer to those two blond boys—who had to be brothers—particularly to the elder one. Perhaps she had found her perfect match, but I wasn't sure. With all the ruckus of late, I hadn't dared touch the mirror (which was the only way to be able to hear what those pictured said) for doing so wouldn't allow me to hear if anyone is coming. I can't let anyone find the mirror. I can't let anyone find Selene. Especially anyone from this world. If someone were to find her, and decide they wanted to take advantage of her and her unique powers...I couldn't bare the thought. That's why I had to be so careful.

I heard a knock on the door. I breathed a sigh. At least this one was willing to knock first instead of just bursting in like most of the self-important nobles that strutted through the castle halls. " **Who is it?** " I asked wearily.

" **The only one who knocks.** " said a deep voice.

That's a relief. It was merely the king. " **Come on in, your highness.** "

The door opened and Faelan entered the room, looking weary as he closed and locked the door, " **I thought we both could use a break. I'd forgotten how tiresome these wedding affairs can be.** " He smiled, looking thoroughly worn out as he took a seat in a chair that was in the corner. " **Besides, Cadeyrn, I thought you might like to have a chance to look in on her, seeing as you haven't been able to for a while. While I'm here, we can use the excuse of royal business to keep from being disturbed.** "

It was my turn to smile, " **Thank you, your majesty. You're very kind.** "

" **Nonsense.** " the elderly man grumped, " **I'm quite curious to see how much she's grown up since I've seen her last.** " That 'last' had been nearly two years ago.

I went over to where my mirror hung and pulled off the cover that concealed it, and took the mirror off the wall. It may look delicate, but it's quite stronger than most any mirror. The metals it was made of were of the same quality that had gone into the original sealing wand and the backup one I had finished about a month prior, which is to say, very high quality. I took no shortcuts when it came to Selene. She deserves nothing but the very best. I sat on a stool near the chair in which the king sat, and tapped the mirror. The surface rippled as I activated the spell. As it settled, it should have shown me Selene. Only it remained blank. My brow furrowed as I tapped it again. And it yet remained blank. I grew irritated, which wasn't to hard to be these days, and put two fingers on the center of the mirror, and pressed. I sent a wave of magic into it to locate the source of the malfunction. But the mirror was perfectly sound and undamaged. I swore violently, using a choice English curse word.

" **What is the matter?** " the king asked.

" **Since the mirror seems to be perfectly fine in of itself, and it's still not working, that means Selene is somewear with powerful enchantments put in place to either prevent magical viewing, or spells that conceal her auras so completely the mirror can't locate them.** " I said calmly, though I was anything but. " **And that means one of two things.** "

" **What would those two things be?** " he sounded concerned.

" **She's either dead—which would've, more than likely, caused the mirror to shatter—or she's in Elementum.** " I looked at Faelan, panic clearly evident in my eyes as my worst fear came into being, " **She's in our dimension, Faelan. Someone's found her. And taken her.** "

Klaus's POV

I moaned and raised a hand to my head, which pounded something fierce.

"Easy now. You took quite a beating." Said a quite, distant yet close voice. Inan, maybe…? I don't know. "Were you not warned about using such magic in Terra? You nearly tapped into your lifeforce."

Had I? That was a good question. Once a magic-user ran out of magical energy, and continued to use magic, they started to use energy from their own life force. It was dangerous to do that, for any life force energy you used, you shortened your own life.

Another important question: why was I in Terra?

And then I remembered and my eyes snapped open, my headache receding in my panic, "Selene! Where is she?!" my voice was hoarse and dry as I looked around. Only four other people were in the room I was in. Merlin, Inan, a very tall man who had the same brown hair and eyes as the rest of the Selene's brothers, and a small, shy woman with two different colored eyes—the right was dark blue, the left pale blue—and very curly black hair that went to her chin. The latter two weren't much older than he was.

The woman shrugged and pushed me back onto the bed, giving me a stern look that clearly said to stay down.

"We were hoping you'd know. We found you crumpled in the woods. Heck, if it weren't for Inan uncharacteristically bursting into the main room looking panicked, we probably wouldn't have found you for a long while." Merlin added, "He's Eric, and the healer who you should probably listen to, is his girlfriend, Felicia. According to her, you shouldn't be up and about for a little bit. Not only did you drain your magic, you've got first degree frostbite on your fingers, nose, and the tips of your ears. She'd heal them outright with, but it's not safe to do that in Terra if the patient is unconscious."

"But Selene...that thing it...it took her!" I croaked. The duel-eyed woman put a glass of water to my lips and I drank as eagerly. Once it was empty, I noticed that all four of them had paled considerably.

"What took her?" came the gruff and quiet voice of Eric.

"Explain, please." Inan gently commanded. I told them all that had happened after Selene and I went seperate ways. I had to go through another two glasses of water before I could finish.

The older three of the four all looked very worried, but kept it contained and silent. Merlin, on the other hand, was running his hands through his hair repeatedly, muttering to himself and trying to figure out several of the details. "I've heard of winged serpents in Myula, but they're very rare and only live in very particular climates, but they're nowhere near as big as the one you described. Nor are they made of water! And nothing of the sort exists here in Terra!" and similar. The only other one who showed visible signs of worry was Felicia, whose hands shook slightly as she used her magic to begin healing my hands, nose, and ears.

It seemed to me, that the more my own worry increased, the more controlled I felt. "I'm going to go after her. I don't care what it takes. I swear I will find her." I declared once she'd backed up, done with the healing. All eyes turned to me. I continued, "Your family has lost enough already. You don't deserve to lose Selene too."

Merlin calmed down a bit, "You really do love her, don't you?" He nodded, "We, any of us in this family, will do whatever it takes to help you in that quest."

Inan was staring out into some unknown distance, his face as blank as a stone. The only reason we noticed was because the mental pressure in the room sharply increased. Merlin looked at him wide-eyed, and no one moved or said a word. Then he spoke, the pressure disappearing, his face going back to it's normal slightly-out-of-it expression, "Klaus needs to do it. None of us can help. If he plays his cards right, it'll all end up in a desirable manner." Then he wandered out of the room.

"What was that…?" I muttered before I could think.

"Inan's a seer." Merlin said absently, "And it's clear that only you will be going to look for Selene. I'm wondering now how we're to tell this to everyone else."

Selene's POV

I'm lying on something. It's most definitely a bed of some sort. I'm going to pretend I'm still not awake, at least for now. Time to gather my scattered thoughts.

Where to start? Hmm...what do I remember. Soon after Klaus fell—oh, I hope he's alright—the end of the winged water snakes tail shoved something in my face and caused me to lose consciousness. Chloroform or something else, I can't tell.

I don't sense anyone in the room currently, but there are people approaching, I can hear them. It's a proven fact that when a body is deprived of one sensory function, the other's become sharper in order to compensate. I'm pretty sure that plays a role in my being able to hear people coming, but I think that something has sharpened my other senses too. I shouldn't be able to smell such vague smells, smells that I can't even place, I shouldn't be able to sense other beings in the general area. Why can I then? I'm not Yukiya, with the super senses of having a contract with a magical wolf. My senses are not this...acute.

I heard a door open, and even heard the faint grinding of hinges, something else I shouldn't be able to hear. "You can open your eyes already," said a bored voice, "I already know you're awake."

Instead, I persisted in my pretending, and heard him walk over. As he did so, I pooled magical energy, burning hot wind energy, into my feet. He reached his hand to shake me or something, but as soon as it neared me, I snapped at it like an animal. Opening my eyes, I swiftly kicked him away. He stumbled, but didn't fall, and I took the opportunity to dart through the open door behind him. I began to run down a very decorated, large, and unfamiliar hallway. I could tell I wore no shoes, and that the floor was cold. Some animalistic instinct told me to keep going as I ran though a completely unfamiliar building, a chilly one at that. I reached a window and looked out it, and froze in shock. Outside was a huge forest, with trees nearly as tall as skyscrapers. These weren't the woods back home.

I felt something quickly approach and whirled around to face it but it was far quicker and everything went, again, black.

* * *

Authoress: And we end in yet another cliffhanger. I seem to do that a lot. It's an easy way to end chapters, at least for me. It also gives you guys a reason to keep coming back, I hope.

Selene: That, and she just ends them where she feels they need to be ended. Oh, and you guys should go check out Philyra's story. The Prologue and Chapter 1 are both Pre-Me.

Authoress: Yup, it's part of her backstory. I don't think Selene and Philyra actually meet until Elemental Chapter 52, and Cursed Chapter 2. Meaning, I'm not posting a chapter for her next time, but after that it'll be posted with Elemental for the next several chapters.

Selene: Wow, I can't believe how close it's getting to the end of book one. Only nine more chapters after this.

Authoress: Tell me about it. I still need to figure out what to do for the book two prologue. It kind of has to be like the first one, with Aurora, but I've got nothing for her story, and don't want to start until Glenn's route comes out and I finish it.

Aurora: Well, good luck with that. You could do something with me going to the transfer station.

Authoress: But I haven't even decided exactly where you guys live. I don't know whether it's going to be Terra or Myula!

Aurora: Again, good luck with that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm pretty sure my buddy's pouting because I'm late for the game of Ladlyz I promised him.

Guy (in the distance): I'm not pouting!

Aurora: Yes, he is. Bye!

Selene: Ah, they grow up so fast!

Aurora: Now you sound like an old lady. You're only in your thirties, woman, and you're pregnant with tr-twins.

Klaus: Even that's too many. For the life of me, I cannot understand why nine wasn't enough…

Selene: Because I love children! And now I want pepperoni! Excuse me while I go did through the fridge!

Authoress: She's your wife. Don't blame me. Now, I've got exams to go study for.

Klaus: At least someone cares about school here.

Aurora (in the distance): I heard that, Dad!


	68. Chapter 51

Okay, so the speech in this isn't in English or Geolunan. It's that third language I've been making the bolded words. But, until I say otherwise, it's not going to be bolded because Selene doesn't know she's speaking it—she thinks she's speaking English. I'll let you know when go we back to English looking like _this_ and Geolunan looking normal. Kapeish? Great.

Special thanks to SuccintHeart269, who not only made a cover for this story—but one for the next book, Halfling as well! You rock!

Daisy Pragnya: Ugh, I know all about exams. I had them the week of the last posting. Thank goodness they're over until the end of the year… -_-'

Sybbie: Well, if they're annoyed they can say something. Since they haven't said anything, I'll assume that they don't care. ;) The man's name, by the way, is Cadeyrn (in which I always switch the y and the r and my computer auto-fixes for me). And don't worry. You'll find out how Klaus gets to the new universe (as well as what it's called), in this chapter. Spanish, I'd say, is one of the most commonly-learned languages in school. Pretty much every high school (or secondary school, I think?) requires at least one or two years of learning a foreign language. I managed to find a roundabout to having to take a second year, thank goodness. And I do, actually know where Belgium is! For the same reason I know where Lichtenstein is and where Prussia used to be (can you guess why?). And Selene's going to lose control of her magic in a couple of chapters. It'll be informative, if anything. And until someone complains, I think I'll keep these here, just for the sake of my convenience because I get lazy. -.- :)

Ukaske: Thank you so much! I'm really glad my story doesn't disappoint, and I mean, wow, you've given me some of the highest compliments a writer can get! I hope this chapter lives up to the rest of it and reveals some things, too. :)

* * *

Chapter 51

The next time I woke it was in a different room. There were no windows and the walls and floor were made of stone. I was restrained, my arms and legs and middle strapped to the table-like bed I was on—but at least the door was open, preventing the panic attack of being trapped. Next to me sat the man from before. This time I got a good look at him. He had dark blue hair—not even Yukiya's raven's wing blue, which was really just a shiny black, this was truly blue—that couldn't have been natural, and grey blue eyes that seemed to hint at silver. He looked appraisingly at me, "Good. You're finally awake."

I glared at him, "Who are you?!" I demanded, "Where am I?! Why am I here?! Tell me that, quickly now, and then take me back to my home!"

He just chuckled, and it made me mad. I glared, murderous intent in my eyes, "I may not know where I am, but I'm pretty dang sure that kidnapping is illegal pretty much anywhere! If my brothers find you they will rip you _apart_! Not that they'll need to, since I'll burn you to _ash_ if you don't let me go back home!"

"Feisty," he chuckled, "I like it. But I'm afraid that your request to leave won't be fulfilled. I've got some grand plans for you, princess."

* * *

h

"That's not my name." I growled, "And I demand to be released."

He sighed, sounding weary, "If you don't keep quiet, how am I supposed to answer some of your questions?" He waved his hand, "Now shush, princess."

I opened my mouth to yell at him, but found myself unable to speak, lips moving soundlessly as I was tried to yell at him. Something was preventing me, some sort of spell. I closed my mouth and glared at him as he smiled in what was, I assume, supposed to be a reassuring smile.

Fail.

"There, that's much better don't you think?" He cooed. _Blech_. "Let's go back to the who, the where, and the why, shall we? I am Duke Garrick Azuron, the youngest son of the sister of the Earth King Faelan and the younger brother of the Wind King Exalos. You are in Elementum. You've never heard of it, but it's another one of those dimensions out there. You've already been in two, so this is your third. Congratulations. Most people don't see more than one, or maybe two. And the why, well, that'll take a little more explaining that will come later." He winked, and my stomach clenched, threatening to expel stomach acid—how long have I gone without eating something? Too long. "First off, I bet you're starving. I've heard that fire types consume more food than the rest of us. I've got some work to do, but I'll have someone send something down. Don't worry about it being poisoned—it'd be pointless for me to go through all this work just to kill you. Someone will release your hands, but don't even think about attempting to escape, princess. You've got some bracelets and anklets that prevent you from leaving this room and from using any of your magic." He stood up, and went to the door, "We'll have a nice long conversation later, okay, princess?" He smirked, a look that sickened me, and left the room, not even bothering to close the door behind him. Arrogant brat. Well, at least it's preventing a panic attack. That'd be bad.

And as soon as he left I found I could speak again. It was pointless screaming now. I'd just have to piece together what information I had and try and figure _something_ out. Time to channel my inner Sherlock Holmes.

Okay. What I know:

—I've been kidnapped by some crazy duke for unknown reasons.

—Said duke has (or claims to have) taken me into a third, unknown dimension known as Elementum.

—Elementum: I'm guessing this means element or something similar.

—My magic really isn't working. There really is a bracelet and anklet on both wrists and ankles: I guess these are the cause. Or it might be that I'm wandless. Either way, my magic is out-of-order.

—Is 'princess' just a nickname or is it referencing something? I hope not.

—If this is the element dimension, does that mean that this is the home of the Elementals, the supposedly mythical beings?

I think back to the section in that book on elementals. It said that little was known on them, but we knew they had three forms. It'd explain why the winged snake that captured me seemed to be made out of water—what if it was a combination of the element and animal forms? It could be.

But what would they want of me? That's the main question.

And right now, there's not much more I can do than wait and bide my time.

I find myself wishing Klaus would appear and fix everything and take me back home.

Is that normal?

Klaus' POV (here's where english looks like _this_ again and Geolunan looks normal)

I found myself back at the site of the capture early the next morning, a clearing which Merlin revealed as the clearing he referenced earlier when he told me about Selene's losses of control/firestorm things. I'm by myself, as her family has to hold itself together with its second loss in less than a week. It's maybe twenty or so minutes until dawn, with the faintest of light visible on the horizon.

Inan's mentioned, when I approached him after he left the room yesterday, said there would be a fairy and a fire bird. A fairy seems unlikely in Terra, where there is no natural magic. Fairies thrive on magic, are creatures of magic—how long would they be able to survive in this world, separated from the very land that keeps them alive? The fire bird, on the other hand, made me think of that one strange bird that I saw in the greenhouse all those months ago, when Selene and I were locked in. Until now, I hadn't thought of it. I'd completely forgotten to ask Selene about it. Did it have anything to do with this?

I see a faint flash out of the corner of my eye, and whip my head towards it. There, in that bush with the waxy, green, ice-covered leaves. I go over to it, and move the small branches aside with my gloved hands. There's a little melted patch beneath it, and in the center is something, curled up tightly, that looks like a glowing orange...bug? But I could sense magical energy coming from it, however faint. It apparently heard me, and raised it's little arms defensively, "I told you I'm not animal food you stupid badger! Now go away!" it cried. Huh. I would've expected a really high-pitched, squeaky voice, but it actually sounded pretty normal. And, it wasn't speaking English.

"I'm not a badger, thank you." I deadpanned, "And might I ask as to why a Myulan fairy is in Terra, a land where magic isn't natural?"

The fairy gasped, "It's you! Thank goodness! You've got to help me find my charge!" It got up from the ground and stood up, "That stupid water elemental took her!"

"Back up." I scooped her up gently, and stood up, holding her in front of me, "was it your fire magic I saw as I was losing consciousness?"

She nodded, "Uh-huh. I can't use anymore, though. I'm out, and there's no power sources to draw on in this forsaken world. I can't even stay in my true form. I'm stuck in this low-power form until I can get more magic. I'm so low I can't even fly..." she pouted.

"How did you even get here?"

"I, uh, well, might've sort've hid in your bag as you transferred to Terra…" she said sheepishly.

"You said Selene was your charge. Why is that?" I asked, disregarding her response.

She suddenly looked nervous, "I'm not allowed to tell you that. I was supposed to protect her, though. I...I've failed!" she cried, sitting in the palm of my hand and tried, not at all successfully, not to cry. "I lost her! I completely bungled my first mission!"

"Stop crying. It will get you nowhere." I said curtly, "You can still get her back safely. You'll have me helping, and you can be sure that I'm not giving up until I find her."

She looked up at me, teary faced. For a moment, I wondered why they weren't freezing to her face, but then remembered she was a fire fairy. "You'll help me find her?"

I nodded and she hugged my thumb, "Thank you!" She seemed back to a more normal state.

I decided to explain the Inan's words to her—it couldn't hurt—and she listened thoughtfully. "I wonder, in fact, I'm pretty sure the 'fire bird' part could be referring to Blayze, her other guardian. Blayze has been with her since she was little, but he's a little conspicuous, so he did more of regular check-ins instead of trailing her everywhere like I've done for the past few months. He's been posing as a sort of familiar. Well, he pretty much is one. His kind tend to be familiars to elementals."

I raised an eyebrow, "And why were you following her?"

"Uh...the person who assigned me to look after her said he had a feeling something bad was going to happen so he decided he needed to put another guardian on her…" she said, slowly and carefully choosing her words, "I was happy to do it, honestly. She's interesting, especially for a...human." She hesitated before saying human. Is she implying that Selene isn't human?

"So it's a 'he' that's put you up to this." I mused.

"Uh! Oh! No!" She sighed, "Crap. Yes. But I won't tell you who he is!"

"Whatever you say." I rolled my eyes, "Now, do you know where to locate this Blayze?"

She nodded, "Mhmm. He's a _pheonix immata_ , a kind of cousin of the elementals. They're halflings, children of animals and the animal form of an elemental. He's only got the animal form with the underlaying of the elemental, like all _immatas_. He's a bird type, and a fire element." She stood up on top of my hand and turned away from me, then started shouting as loud as she could (which, honestly, probably wouldn't have been heard more than about five feet out, "BLAYZE! Selene needs our help! We need you!"

There was a sound of air rushing and then, suddenly, there was a bird perched in a nearby tree: its feathers a mix of blacks and greys, giving it the appearance of being made of ash. It was, in fact, the bird from the greenhouse. Huh. Maybe that's why it appeared and seemed to judge me. Perhaps that bow was it—him?—deeming me worthy of Selene. Or, at least, not a threat to her safety.

It stared down at us, and I could've sworn it was glaring at the fairy in my hand. She clapped her hands to her ears with a wince, "No need to scream at me!" Were they communicating telepathically? A few minutes later the fairy spoke up again. "We're going to get her back!" the fairy declared, "But we'll need your help! Your the only one who's able to do the dimension transfer. I might be able to at full power, but I've never actually attempted it before and I'm low on magic at the moment. Do you think you could maybe transfer both Klaus and me to **Elementum**?" She gave the bird a pleading look, and it seemed to sigh. What was that word she spoke? It doesn't sound like a language I've ever even heard before.

It nodded and spread it's wings just as the sun peeked over the horizon. Then in a burst of flames, which quickly dispersed. There was a new bird—or at least a changed bird—that wasn't made of blacks and greys, but of oranges and reds and hints of white and blue. The fairy sighed, "No matter how many times I watch him transform, it's always so pretty." She turned back towards me to explain, "Fire type _immatas_ have two different color forms, one for day and one for night. When the sun peeks over the horizon, they turn into their fire state, the colors he is now. Once the sun sets, they turn into the colors of ash and such. It's apparently some sort of camouflage back in their home habitats." She smiled dreamily. So it is a he. And I've never heard of such a magic creature. Then again, if they're related to elementals, there's probably not much known about them among humans.

"All that is interesting, but what was the word you said? The place you asked him to send us to?"

"Oh, it translates to "The Elements". It's another dimension that was created by the elementals. There's tons of dimensions, but most only know of three more major ones, at least, these are the ones we know of—Terra, also known as Earth; Myula, also known as the 'Magic Layer', and Elementum, known as the Land of the Elementals. The elementals don't really like humans, far less than any fairy does, so they created their own dimension in which to exist without humans. Not _all_ elementals hate or despise humans, just most of them. Fairies are actually descendants of Elementals. They say the first fairies were children of the elementals element forms and plants, or something to that aspect." She rubbed the back of her head bashfully.

There's a third dimension? That's new. But, with everything else I've found out in the past few days, why should I be surprised? "I never did catch your name either." She clearly knew mine from following Selene around.

"Oh yeah, oops." she giggled, "I'm Sienna Salamander. Now," Her face went serious, "let's get the show on the road! We've got things to do!" she turned back to the _immata_ and nodded.

He swooped down and landed on my shoulder—he was heavier than he looked. Sienna had me place her on Blayze's back. "I'd close your eyes." she muttered as she passed my ear, "otherwise they might dry up." Well. That was a pleasant thought.

I did as she said and felt the sharp talons of the _immata_ dig into my shoulder—not enough to pierce my skin, but enough to be directly touching it through holes it created through my coat and shirt. Perhaps the transfer needed direct contact?

I felt the _immata_ inhale and heard its wings spread, feeling the tip of one brush my ear. I was surrounded by wind and felt my world jerk.

* * *

Authoress: Okay, so y'all know how I cut into Taming and Warrior on occasion?

Elias: Ha! "On occasion" is a gross understatement!

Luca: Geeze, Prince Elias, why you gotta be so salty?

Elias: What the heck does that horrifically grammatically incorrect sentence even mean?!

Luca: Ask Selene. She'll explain it.

Authoress: But he's right. You're always so salty when I speak up in your story!

Elias: It's because you butt in to say the most ridiculous things!

Luca: Not really. Have you seen what she's done in mine? She literally tells both Marelda and I that we're going to end up married with...two daughters, was it?

Authoress: Yup. At least.

Elias: Well you don't care! I do! That's that's the difference!

Authoress/Luca: Such it up buttercup!

(The two look at each other, laugh, and high five.)

Elias: Just leave me alone!

Authoress/Luca: Never!


	69. Chapter 52

Okay, so I realized that I posted Chapter 2 of Cursed a little early. It's supposed to go with this chapter. Therefore, I won't be posting something for Cursed this week. So...yeah. Sorry about that. Because in this chapter, Selene meets Philyra for the first time!

Man, we're getting close to the end. There's only seven more chapters left in Elemental, because then we're moving on to Halfling. I can't say how awesome you guys are for sticking with this for so long. :) And random fun fact, that I may have referenced at some point: Fonix, Selene's last name, translates in english to phoenix. It came from the Hungarian "Főnix" which, according to Google Translate, means phoenix. I found it a long time ago for the last name of a character from a story long, long abandoned.

Daisy Pragnya: I'm not entirely sure what you're asking. Do you want me to explain what happened in the last chapter? As for the ender, I have to credit the idea to SuccintHeart269. She wanted to see Luca and I teasing Elias. I looked back and saw that I had a typo, though. -_-' It's supposed to say "Suck it up buttercup!" Eh, it was still fun. I'm glad your finding my version of elementals interesting. :)

LyriaHart: Here's the next chapter! Just so you know, I post every two weeks. It gives me enough time to where I can have lots of prewritten chapters and not run out, leaving a large gap of no-posts.

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Chapter 52

Klaus' POV

I hit the ground, my knees giving out, and I fell backwards, landing sprawled out. I felt a couple gusts of air and then something small hit my face with a squeal. It tumbled off and landed next to my ear.

"Ow ow ow…" it winced.

I pulled myself into a sitting position and rubbed my eyes before opening them. I found myself in a snowy forest, one clearly much older than the one in Terra. This was Elementum. It looked really similar to Terra, but the trees were much more...sharp? Clear? I don't know. It felt like it was more...real, or something. More alive, in a way. It made no sense, and was more of an instinctual feeling than a logical one.

I looked behind me to see the bug girl get up and brush herself off. She smiled and took a deep breath, beginning to glow. In a small burst of light, she was revealed as a small girl with shimmery wings that shifted colors like fire. She was also wearing a fancy dress that was the same colors as her wings. She looked down and frowned, then snapped. Another little burst of light and her clothes changed to more serviceable clothes for traveling, though they were still the same color. She nodded in satisfaction, "Much better."

"If you're done with your fashion show, I'd like to get a move on." I deadpanned. I noticed Blayze flying off, west ward, the opposite of the still rising sun. His flight was shaky, his wing flaps weaker than they should be. Translating us into Elementum seemed to have worn him out.

Sienna looked over, surprised, like she'd forgotten I was there, "Oops. Yeah. Let's go. Oh, and I'm going to have to ride on your shoulder for a while. I've got some magic back, enough to switch to the smaller version of my true form, but it'll be a while before I can fly, even here, where magic is the lifeblood of everything. I was in Terra for a dangerously long time."

I sighed and held out my hand. She hopped up onto it and I raised her to my shoulder, where she climbed on. "Now that we're here, I can sense the different life forces. Start heading west, that way." She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as I began walking.

"Everything magical is stronger in Elementum." she said, "Terra has no magic, Myula is woven with it, but Elementum? Elementum is as pure as magic can get in physical forms, and there are things far closer to the foundation of life and magic themselves than you'll find in any other world. Faeries rarely get to go here, but it's like filling our veins and very soul with energy when we are. If we're here too long, that same thing makes us sick—too much of a good thing, you know. That's why we stick to Myula normally, it's the right balance of magic and physical being to sustain us. Myula was originally meant for faeries, you know. The ancient elementals created it so their 'lesser' kin, us faeries, could live without being overwhelmed."

As she paused to catch her breath, I wondered if she was the type that talked nonstop when they were worried. She seemed to be. No matter, as long as she talked about things of actual importance. Heck, to distract myself from negative thoughts I was committing most of what she said to memory. It's make an interesting paper to write when I got home, especially since so little about elementals and their world is known.

"Humans were never actually meant to exist anywhere but Terra, you know? You guys evolved on Terra, and had no magic whatsoever, until a fairy decided to bring some to Myula to help work the land and help it flourish and whatnot. A lot of us can be really lazy at times. But a few curious faeries who were fascinated with this stubborn, cockroach like race—impossible to completely get rid of your species, you know, you all seem to be impossibly too stubborn to just die off—decided to gift you with magic, through actually mating with them. Thus, the first human halflings were born, and most of them had elemental magic—the most basic and difficult magics. Sure, there was a time manipulator or two, but those have always been rare, even among faeries. As time went on, human blood diluted the fairy blood and created all sorts of new magic. It's really quite interesting to study, which is why I usually do it on my own. It's also one of the reasons I was asked to watch over Selene, because I don't hate humans like a good number of faeries do."

"I've heard that most faeries don't like, even hate, humans. Why is that?" I asked before I could stop myself. "But you said that some of them liked humans enough to mate with them at one point."

"Because most of us are proud, stubborn idiots who believe that humans are beneath us. Those kinds of faeries get that attitude from the elementals. Not all of us, though. Can't group a species like that, you know? There are lots of fae-blood and -gifted humans even today on Myula. More than you'd think, especially with the number of halflings. And if you think faeries are bad, you don't want to come upon an unsympathetic elemental. With faeries, it's your choice if you want to interact with humans or completely spurn them. With elementals, even befriending them can get you in _big_ trouble. And mating with them...it's completely taboo. Selene's father was banned from leaving Elementum and directly contacting any humans, or half humans because of it."

I choked, "You mean to tell me Selene is half elemental?!"

She froze, "Oops...gah!" She pulled at her hair, "Me and my big mouth! I'm gonna be in so much trouble...!"

"Calm down!" I snapped when she began freaking out. She shut her mouth quickly, freezing again. "I won't tell if you don't, so stop panicking. I do have one question. Does Selene know this?"

Sienna shook her head and whispered, "No. That's why Blayze and I were supposed to protect her, so something like this didn't happen. But we failed...but we're going to get her back! We will!" She steeled herself, "And we'll make the one responsible regret it! I know we will!"

"Is Selene's father the one who put you up to protecting her?" I asked, "And don't bother trying to play it off. Might as well just tell me everything. If I'm going to be able to help to the fullest extent, I need to know what I'm up against."

She sighed, "You're right. I might as well. Selene's father is Cadeyrn. He used to have a last name but he rejected it when he swore off any claim to any throne, fire or wind. He took on the last name 'Fonix'—which translates to pheonix, which he chose because of the irony—when he was in the human world." She went on to explain the twice-royal heritage of Selene's father, and how he never really liked the world of the rich and royal. Apparently his mother's death caused him to officially swear never to try for the throne, and he disappeared soon after. There's only a small handful of people who knew where he went—Myula. Like his mother, Selene's fraternal grandmother, he was a human sympathizer. He never meant to mate and have a child, because he understood it was all but illegal, but he fell in love and couldn't help it (Sienna sighed and called this "romantic")m falling in love with a woman who was only in Myula to hide something—Sienna didn't know what—before returning to Terra. Thus, Selene came into being. Cadeyrn had previously researched elemental-human halflings, so he knew how dangerous the inherited magic was to the child. He created her wand to seal away most of her powers until she could control it, so they wouldn't overwhelm and kill her as a babe—most unsealed halflings of this kind managed to make it to adolescence before being overwhelmed, but most weren't of the royal blood like she. The power of the royal blood was far stronger than a non-royal's. "Her other sides can be...temperamental, to say the least." She laughed nervously. "Or, at least they would be if they were free."

"Other sides…?" I mused, then my eyes widened as I remembered what Merlin had told me, "You mean to say that those times that she 'lost control' like her brother said, it had something to do with her Elemental heritage?"

"Mhm. That was mostly her elemental side. The animal side is buried deeper."

I remembered what the book, that one that Selene showed me all those months ago with the section on Elementals. "That's right. Elementals have three forms, don't they? Humanoid, Element, and Animal."

She nodded, "Where Cadeyrn's element leans towards wind, Selene's, as you may have guessed at this point, is more oriented towards the fire side of her heritage."

That actually makes so much sense, I thought, "Well, that explains a lot more than it doesn't. And what do you mean by her animal side being 'buried deeper'?"

"Remember how I mentioned they were sealed? Well, her animalistic side is, uh, a bit more dangerous than her elemental side. The elemental has a single seal. The animal is a seal _within_ that seal." Sienna said, "Oh, umm, we might want to turn that way. There's an earth elemental a ways ahead, and it's best to stay out of sight. We don't have to worry about them sensing our magic, though, because this world is so interwoven with magic our isn't nearly strong enough to distinguish from the lower life forms, like plants. But if we're seen that's another matter, because since they won't be able to sense us they'll know we're not elementals. They'll just send _me_ back to Terra, but more than likely they'll kill you. And then I'd never get Selene back and I'd get in _huge_ trouble."

"Nice to know I'm only as noticeable as a plant." I muttered, going the way she pointed, "But a seal has to have a physical thing to tie it to, doesn't it? Otherwise it wouldn't last long, unless elementals don't need to do something like that."

"You're quite right. Not even elementals can tie something to nothing. It just doesn't work that way. You've actually got her seals with you, and I'm kind of glad they're with us instead of whoever took her. They could potentially use it to control her against her will, if they found out what it was." Wait, I've got it with me?

What of her's do I have wi...wand. "You're telling me her seal is her _wand_?"

"Yup. Her father specializes in magical tools, well, it's more of a hobby he's refined to an art. Elementals rarely need magical tools. He originally made them for sheer enjoyment, but he made the wand to help Selene control her power. That's why it's so different than any other wands, ones made by humans or fae—it's made of phoenixian metals from this world: silver, gold, and bronze. Metal from this world has far more magical properties and capabilities than they do from the other worlds because they form closer to the source of all magic. They're stronger, lighter, and more usable for magic. Cadeyrn makes most of his tools out of phoenixian metals, though occasionally he'll use wood from this world or something. Even with his special mirror, the reflective part is made of silver. It's also why the veins in the wand shift, because they've actually got a bit of life in them. It makes for a much stronger seal, to put it into something that is alive, but at the same time, doesn't die."

This is getting more complicated than I thought. No matter. It won't stop me from rescuing that troublesome little buddy of mine.

Selene's POV

The one who brings me something to eat isn't some burly guard, but a small, some ragged little girl with long, ratty brown hair covering her eyes, carrying a tray too big for her. She came over, set the tray on my lap, and released my arms from the bindings (those pesky bracelets were still there, though) with shaky hands. I flexed my wrists, rubbing some feeling back into them, trying not to wince from the pins and needles.

Then she backed away, to the corner. I sigh, and speak in Myulan—it's more likely she speaks this than English, "Come here, girl. You look far more hungry than I am, so come eat. Please." I saw the girl hesitate. "Come on, I don't bite those who don't deserve it. You've done nothing. The only one I'd bite at this point is that nasty Azuron creep who took me here, the jerk. Even then, probably not. He's so evil and nasty it'd most likely poison me.." I beckoned her closer, "Come on, take whatever you want. I insist."

She carefully crept over to me. I noticed that around her ankles were coppery rings (though mine seemed to be silver, unlike hers) like the ones on my own, and were connected by a thin copper chain. I'm just going to go ahead and assume—though I dislike assuming—that they were magical. Otherwise they'd be poor chains. She grabbed a roll and took a bite.

"What's your name, sweetie?" I said, using my most motherly comforting voice, "I'm Selene."

She mumbled something.

"Could you speak up a bit, hun?" I gently encouraged.

"Philyra." I could barely hear her, but it was loud enough.

"That's a pretty name. I haven't heard it before. Are you like me, a prisoner here?" I handed her a small apple as she nodded. I sighed, "I wish I knew why in the heck he's doing this. If one knows their captor's motives, it can reveal methods of escape."

She looked up and I saw one frightened, stormy grey eye peeking out from her matted hair, "He's...building an army."

I froze, my eyes wide at her quiet sentence, "An...army? Do you know why?"

She shook her head.

"Are you part of his plan, willing or not?"

She nodded. She seemed more inclined to answer as long as she didn't have to talk. Twenty questions it is, then.

"Are there others forced into this?"

Nod.

"Is there a connection between each of these people?"

Nod.

"What is it?" I asked, starting to worry.

She looked up at me again, a single tear slipping out of the corner of that one visible eye.

"Magic." she whispered, "Strong magic."

And for the first time in a very, very long time (in english), I swore with the worst word I knew.

* * *

Authoress: Dun dun DUN!

Aurora: Was that really necessary?

Selene: Of course it was, sweetling. It's more fun that way.

Authoress: Besides, it's less of a "Why?" thing and more of a "Why not?"

Selene: Speaking of the "Why not?"s, I'm going to go finish setting up that prank I'm going ot pull on your father. (She leaves)

Aurora: How am I related to her, again?

Authoress: Same reason I'm related to my brother. Genetics. Personality really has nothing to do with them, honestly.

Aurora: Sure, whatever you say...I still am questioning your existence.

Authoress: Rude!

Aurora: Blame my father.


	70. Chapter 53

Okay, so you guys know about those "wrong-number-turned-awesome" situations in books? Well, two weeks ago today that happened to me. I've not got four friends in NYC who go to a fancy boarding school. XD Let's call them R, J, P, and L. R is bad with technology, so his roommate/best friend J programmed all the contacts in (except one—J did not dare put the wrong number in for his mother, whom has kind of claimed R as her own) with wrong, random numbers. So R accidentally texted me instead of J. We started talking, and then in my last class on Monday, he goes silent for a while. Then I get a text from J saying R got his phone taken away and the class was laughing at him. From there on out, there were a series of conversations (mostly between R and I, because J is notoriously bad at texting), and I ended up with Ps number. L, however, was a new student at the school a few days after we started talking, and I got a text from R when he first saw L because he was panicking because he saw a brown-eyed angel. Yup, R had an instant crush. L did, however, get adopted by the group of friends. Apparently he was curious about me since R and P talked about me a lot, so he stole my number from R's phone while R was, and I quote, busy "macking the cheese" he was making for dinner that night. Better yet, other than L also being fun to talk to, he admitted to me last Tuesday that he may have a little crush on R. So I've got four new friends who go to a boarding school in NYC, two of which are crushing on each other but completely oblivious to the other's feelings. The only other one who knows the entirety of what's going on is P, my helper in Operation Brownstar (Brownstar is the couple name now for R and L, for various reasons). I've been playing matchmaker, dear readers, and the best thing is, it's _working_. Wish me luck!

Now, onto the review reply:

PetVet1023: Don't worry, Halfing isn't that far away. There are only six (I think) more chapters left in Elemental. I'm currently finished Chapter 5 of Halfling last week (it still needs the prologue, which'll be like the new one for this story, where it's with Aurora). I would be further on it if it weren't for my trying to catch up and get Warrior started, and the fact that for about three weeks I was in a writing slump and got absolutely nothing done. As for chapter inspiration, I just kind of plan a basic outline of what happens and then I let the characters themselves fill in the details. That's really all I can say; it's kind of a hard thing to describe.

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Chapter 53

 **Klaus' POV**

As it turned out over the next week, Sienna was a genius when it can to identifying edible plants. It made me realize how much I needed to learn about the world(s), and not from books. I needed to get out and learn by seeing and doing.

Of course, she didn't really need to eat. Since she opted to stay in miniature form, the magic energy radiating off of everything was enough to sustain her. Actually consuming it would be, according to her, comparable to consuming drugs and narcotics—wonderful in the short term, not so good in the long term. At this rate, she said, it'd be several weeks before she'd start getting sick from all the magical energy, more than enough time to find Selene and get out.

We apparently had to travel to the other side of the earth kingdom to find Selene. We came into Elementum close to it's northern border with the water kingdom, and we needed to be at the central borderwoods between earth and wind. At the rate we were going, according to her, it'd take us another week. It was frustratingly slow. But going any faster would be worse than the current pace, because we'd risk not only detection, but exhaustion. And exhaustion would take time to recover from. And if there was a fight when we got there, which I'd bet there would be, we'd need energy to fight it. The risks of hurrying outweighed the benefits.

But it was nearly killing me. As time went on, it was less and less likely Selene was okay, unharmed. And if she got hurt, or killed...I can't even bare to think about it.

 **Selene's POV**

I sucked in a breath as Philyra dabbed some sort of cleaning agent onto a cut. That stings. But I'd deal with it. Like I was dealing with the various cuts and bruises all over my body. "I kind of screwed that up." I tried to laugh, but it hurt my ribs—I think a few were possibly cracked.

"You need to be more careful, Selene." Philyra said. She didn't try to whisper, but her voice was just really quiet. She preferred to not use it as much as possible, but she was getting better, at least with me. I've been told I have that effect on people. But 'Lyra had some pretty good reasons to hate her voice.

But that's a story for another time. I should probably go do one of those flashback things and explain, but I'll let Authoress do that in _Cursed_ …oh, and side note. It turns out that I somehow know a third language. These creeps that hold me captive speak something that isn't English or Myulan. I've somehow learned another language. Sad thing is, it's not even the top mystery on my list at this point.

It'd been two weeks since I was kidnapped and taken here. It felt more like a lifetime. During this time, I'd learned that Jerkwad, as I hatefully called "Duke Garrick Azuron," (in turn, he still called me "princess," but in a way where he was clearly mocking me) was indeed building up an army of young magic users (mostly humans) who had a great potential of magical energy. As soon as their energy was mostly replenished, Jerkwad's minions would drain it again. It was horrible. It took at least a complete week for magical energy to come back in a decent amount once it's completely drained. It took a lot less time if they had a least a little magical energy, but no one who knew (meaning, those whose energy was being stolen, and me) was going to tell them that. Philyra had sort of been assigned as my maid because she was the most meek and docile one (not really, she was just super shy and had been through a lot—she's a survivor, okay?).

And most of the time while I'd been here, Jerkwad had been trying to convince me to marry him.

That's right. He wants me as his bride. His obedient, willing bride who will be a good little sheep and do as he says, becoming his weapon. Oh, he makes these grand promises, saying that I'll get to have the bracelets removed, and become the princess consort of the soon-to-be-ruler of Elementum. Do you, reader, know what it means to be a consort of a ruler? It means that you're pretty much powerless, because the ruler, be it king or queen or whatever, can overrule you still. It's not even close to an equal rule. Ha. Like any of that appeals to me. I'd rather kill him and go back to my life, and I'd told him as much. That was a week ago. That was also the first time he hit me, saying he'd had enough of my attitude. I laughed and turned my head, telling him to go ahead and hit the other. It'd not change my mind. That made him storm out mad, like a child throwing a tantrum. Actually, I'm wondering if anyone ever told him "No." growing up. From his actions, I highly doubt it.

But any wounds he'd inflicted on me did nothing more than leave a stinging red mark. No bruises, cuts, or scrapes. Possible cracked bones. It was what happened earlier today.

I had acted like I was calling Jerkwad on his bluff, saying he couldn't possibly have _that_ many kids he was draining magic from. And, like a typical male when you question them and their boasting, he had to prove it. Idiot.

We were walking down a hallway, being followed by several elemental guards, all wind or water types, more often than not a mix of the two. Most likely to subdue me if necessary. Which it won't be. These danged bracelets and anklets did, in fact, block my magical energy from being released. Heck, the only reason that Jerkwad hasn't drained my energy is because he hasn't figured out how. I mean, he tried the normal way the other day and it didn't do squat. Ha. I'm special. In your face, Jerkwad.

And, as it turned out, one of the men tailing us everywhere was Jerkwad's second in command. His name is too hard to spell, so let's call him SP, as in "second place." Anyway, it turned out SP was the water elemental what kidnapped me, with one with the animal form of a flying snake. He's also apparently a lesser noble in comparison to Jerkwad's rank. Baron or something.

Jerkwad pulled out little stone of some sort and held it out. It glowed and suddenly the outlines of a door appeared, and were followed shortly by the wall sliding to the side, into the wall itself, like some sort of sliding door or something. It was impressive, if unnecessarily flashy.

But what was inside horrified me.

There had to be around fifteen kids huddled into three different groups. One consisted of a couple of kids around five and a few girls, a couple years younger than me, trying to comfort them. The other had a few boys together, muttering mutinously but going silent when the door opened. The third wasn't really a group but a few loner kids in the same general area. But what all had in common was they were all dirty, scared, and half-starved. None were as bad as Philyra had been when I first saw her and started sharing my food with her (a ration that was decreasing as time went on without my giving in to Jerkwad's demands), but they weren't far behind. It made me sick to my stomach. The oldest was around fifteen, the youngest only five.

I clenched my fists and slowly turned to face Jerkwad. My voice was almost unrecognizable to even me, deep and growly, "How. _Dare_. You. How dare you treat them like this?! Having them wallow in their own filth while you strip them of their power and starve them?!" I lunged for him, guards or no, kids watching or not, fingers spread like claws. I was beyond rage, beyond fury. I was murderous. I howled as I scratched and pummeled him, the bracelets glowing with barely suppressed magical rage.

At least, as much as I could before I was pulled back and thrown to the ground. I ended up having to curl myself into a tight ball in an instinctive effort to protect myself from the furious storm of kicks that followed from the guards. I lost consciousness with a kick to my head…

...and woke up back in the room where I'd been kept for the past two weeks. Only, this time with a good deal more damage to my person and shackles of gold instead of silver bracelets. The door was still open. They hadn't closed it. I don't know why, but at this point I'm not going to question it. Philyra had been doing her best to tend my wounds with some of the magical healing stuff they'd given her, but she wasn't very strong and I was crumpled on the floor.

"I know. I shouldn't have gone into rage mode. I didn't try to, honest...but seeing those poor kids...something just snapped, and I couldn't control this overwhelming fury that just boiled over. It's like, for a moment, I wasn't even me." I sighed, careful not to jostle my ribs. I was leaning sideways against the wall, my better shoulder against it as Lyra tended my back, one of the worst areas on my body. I winced as she carefully cleaned out a particularly deep scratch. "Besides, it's not like they'll kill me after all the trouble they took to get me here." I couldn't help the bitter tone. Not after having discovered what they did to get me away from the safety of the magic-filled academy.

They killed Johnathan.

They killed him just to lure me away to a place where I was ripe for the taking. And although I knew it wasn't true, I couldn't help but feel at fault. Johnathan's dead because they wanted _me_. They wanted a weapon, an obedient little princess.

I'm going to make sure they _never_ get her.

I felt an unwelcome tear slide down my grimy face. I hadn't been able to bathe in a week. I felt disgusting. And not only physically.

"L-lyra…" I whimpered, "I want to go home. I want Klaus to come get me and take me home." Later, when I looked back, I realized that I wanted Klaus to save me more than I'd care to admit.

Lyra, who was sitting next to me as she tended me, put her hand over mine and squeezed it, comforting me in the only way she could without hurting my battered body.

"And you know what, if we—no, _when_ we—get out of here, you have a home with me. You'll always have a home with me." I had pushed away my own pain and went to caring about her. It was easier to take care of other people and their problems than it was my own. I gingerly put my arm around her, this little girl whom I decided was my sister. In all actuality, she was fourteen. But she was small, so small. "You'll _always_ have a home with me." Unlike the other captives, Philyra wasn't taken from her family or off the streets. She was taken from the slave traders her family had sold her to.

Her family was from a small fishing town far to the east of Gedonelune, an extremely superstitious town that feared magic. Lyra had spent the first twelve years of her life being beaten every time she spoke because of the magic in her voice, because if the neighbors, the town, found out she'd be killed. She was a spellsinger. She hated her magic, and was terrified of it. Her "family" sold her to the slave traders because they wanted her off their hands. Her, her magic, and her dual colored eyes—the right a stormy grey, the left a bright sea green with blue flecks.

She'd grown up unwanted, feared, and scared of her own magic, something as much a part of her as her own beating heart. And I swear that she'll _never_ be unwanted again.

Her problems are so much worse than my own. And I refuse to let mine beat me. This small, mousy little girl is a survivor. And I will be willing of her friendship. Her sistership. Because we are in this together. Or so I hope. How sure can I be of anything at this point, when I'm sure my sanity is starting to slip?

I'm wish I could see the sun. Just a glimpse. Maybe that would stabilize my mental state. I don't know anymore.

"Hey Lyra, have I told you about the time I stole Elias' textbooks and made him go on a hunt for them?" By this point, I'd told her about not only my large, large family, but my school and my friends from it. She knew about my buddy, Klaus. And about how I wasn't sure how I felt about him at this point.

She shook her head and crawled in front of me to sit and listen. She said my stories were much more interesting than this hellhole to which we were confined. I think she just knew that talking about the people and places I love was a therapy for me, that it kept me sane. Kept me as strong as I could be.

And for that I was more grateful than she'd ever know.

 **Klaus' POV**

"We're almost there!" Sienna was getting anxious, or at least, was finally starting to show it, "We're less than a day from her! I can feel her magical energy! It's flared up! I...I think she might be mad…" I sped up my steps ever so slightly. I hope she's okay. More than anything I hope she's okay.

Sienna gasped, "And now it's barely there. Only traces are left."

I stumbled to a stop. Blayze, who'd been flying over us, had swooped down to a branch, and couldn't sit still, and was constantly shifting uneasily. "Is she alive?!"

Sienna took in a shaky breath, "Yes."

A thread of tension went loose inside of me and I released a breath I hadn't known I was holding.

"But her powers are even more restrained. Before, it was easier to sense her presence. It's like whatever had been preventing her from using magic was replaced with something stronger. I don't think I could have sensed her now if we weren't so close."

"Then we need to hurry. I think she's in danger." I said.

And about half an hour later, when we were taking a short break...

" **You'll never even see her unless you have help**."

* * *

Authoress: D—

Klaus: Don't even. You did that last chapter.

Authoress: Dang you! Stop ruining my fun! You've passed that trait onto your daughter!

Selene: Authoress, calm down. I'll take care of him.

Klaus (*smirking*): Oh, really, the heavily pregnant wife is going to be able to take me down?

Selene: Pregnancy gives a mother power, dearest darling. A mother is dangerous when you make her irritated, especially when she's got these crazy mood swing hormones. Beware, darling, beware.

Klaus: You don't scare me. Actually, I'm struggling not to laugh at the picture you make.

Selene: Oh, really now? We'll see about that.

(she puts her fingers to her lips and whistles really loudly—there's a lot of thumping and suddenly eight kids are at the doorway leading outside, where they are.)

Selene (pointing at Klaus): Munchkins! Attack!

Kids: Yaaaaay!

Klaus: Crap dang you, Selene! (runs off, chased by eight of nine of his current children)

Selene: Okay, Authoress. Now that he's gone, go all out.

Authoress: Mother power, the best kind of power. Got to love it. And...Dun Dun DUUUUUUNNNN!


	71. Chapter 54

First things first, Cursed doesn't have a chapter for this posting, but it will for the next.

Second, remember those friends from NYC and Operation Brownstar? Well, it was a total success and R and L are an official couple. Totally adorable, those two.

Third, one of my writing portfolios (for college writing) was turned in two days early last week, and then on Thursday, my teacher told me she had graded it. I was expecting this portfolio, the essay portfolio, to be my weakest one (Poetry and Narratives were the other two), particularly since I got an almost unheard of 95% on the narrative portfolio. My teacher, however, said it was my STRONGEST ONE YET! I was so excited (still am)! I got a 96%, which is extremely rare! Even more so than 95%! I'm excited. So excited. XD XD XD XD XD XD XD!

Now, review replies. Because those are a thing. Yeah...

PetVet1023: Yeah, that ender was so much fun to write. And since Selene has a total of nine by the time Aurora goes to school, I can totally see her doing it. XD The end escape will be interesting, I hope, and a little different than is expected.

LyriaHart: Thanks! And don't worry, Elemental only has 59 chapters. _The end is near_. But don't worry, a new beginning is in order.

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Chapter 54

I whirled around so fast Sienna fell off my shoulder with a yelp. "Who are you?!" I said threateningly, pulling out my wand and pointing it at the man about three yards away. Out of the side of my mouth, I hissed at Sienna, "Why didn't you warn me?!"

"Sorry...I didn't even sense him until just now. But he's speaking Element, the language of the elementals. I know it." She flew up and whirled into her full form for the first time. She was taller than Selene, but not as tall as I was. Her hair flickered like flames, " **Who are you? What do you want? And I swear if you try and stop us I** _ **will**_ **call you up before the Paladin for kidnapping a royal!** " Sienna made quite the intimidating picture when acting like a noble-born fairy (which she was, as the younger sister of a fairy duke), glaring fiercely at the man, or elemental, or whatever he is. Even If I couldn't understand what she was saying.

" **I don't mean you any harm.** " He said, raising his hands up in a non-threatening gesture as Sienna translated.

Sienna decided to question the guy, who answered all of her questions politely. When she was done, she turned to me. Blayze, I noticed, kept watching the mystery man.

"Okay, so from what I've gathered, he's a water elemental with the noble rank of Earl. His name is Geysis Tempestus, and he is—sorry, was—in cahoots with the guy who took Selene, Duke Garrick Azuron."

I looked at him sharply, " _Was_ , you say?"

"Yes. Apparently he believes that the duke has taken his plans to far." Sienna elaborated.

"What plans?" I inquired, suspicious.

The man started to speak, but Sienna held up a hand and stopped him. Coming over to me, she tapped each of my ears, "I'm tired of translating. This is a spell that will allow you to hear him like it's your own language. Now, my lord, continue."

"His grace has been consumed by his greed and hatred. I can understand why he would have ambition and goals, but involving others, innocents, and treating them so horribly, is wrong. Regardless of them being _human_ or not." He shook his head, "I did not know until earlier today just how poorly they were being treated. It sickens me."

"What are his plans." I demand calmly, with the practice every Goldstein gets.

"He has gathered about sixteen youths, human or half human youths, each who have considerable magical power. He has only had them for maybe a month. He is continually draining them of their magical energy, hoping to store up enough to wield it against the Paladin, the eldest and wisest of our kind, and those who serve under him. Elemental magic would never stand up to it, but the uniqueness of the human magic would swiftly conquer the organization. They are prepared for attacks from their own kinds, but they believe human magic inferior and easily dealt with. They are wrong. Some of you humans wield magic that could take down elementals easily, particularly if caught of guard. That is why he wanted the halfling princess. Without her elemental magic, her human magic in itself is very strong because of her lineage. Combined with her elemental magic, both increase exponentially, strengthening each other. She is also not under the restrictions of an elemental, and is not confined to the elements she inherited, though those are her strongest magics and the other two are extremely difficult to use. He wants her as a weapon, as his princess consort and king's champion. All he would need to do is get her cooperation and break her seals, then no one could stand in his way."

I snorted, quite rudely, I might add, "She'd never agree to that. Others might, but Selene is far too stubborn and strong of will."

He smiled ruefully, "That's why his grace has tried less...favorable methods of convincing her. He started out trying to bribe her, but now I believe his next move is to starve her into obedience. He's been slowly decreasing her rations, but now I think he's going to not give her any. It's wrong. Very wrong. I may not like humans, but I do not think this is right."

Now I was panicked. Selene required a lot of food every day, and if she's not getting it...she'd starve, rather than follow the evil plans of that man.

"That's why," he continued, "I want to help you. On one condition."

Now I was even more suspicious, "Go on."

"You have to figure out a way to get all the children back into your world. _All_ of them. Their human taint will take long enough to erase as it is." he shook his head, "But children, even human ones, shouldn't ever have to be in the state their in. Starving and dirty, confined to a room until their magic replenishes, only to have it drained away. It's too cruel."

I looked at Sienna, "If it completely drained Blayze to transfer just the three of us here, he'll never be able to take all of them back."

She bit her lip, "That's almost true. It takes less energy, however, to go from Myula to Elementum than it does to transfer all the way from Terra. But he'll only be able to take four every half day. Sixteen children, Selene, plus the two of us. That means that it'll take around three days. Maybe if he"—she pointed back at the elemental—"helps support Blayze with his energy, we might be able to cut it down to two days."

I nodded, "If we can do that, we can summon the authorities to bring them back to their homes."

"Some do not have homes. They were children thrown out from their families for possessing magic, or they never had magic to begin with. Only around half have a family, if I remember correctly." the elemental input.

I sighed, "Then they will probably be put under the care of an orphanage in Gedonelune. Or, if they're at least ten, they might be able to enter into the academy, since you said they've all got powerful magic. I know of a few parentless students who attend currently."

"If it works." Tempestus agreed, "Now, there are several things you must know, but I cannot stay much longer. I will have to meet you later, towards the twilight time. Good day." He bent his knees and launched himself into the air, transforming as he did so into a great blue snake with dark grey wings.

I felt a lump of anger catch in my throat—it was _him_ who actually took Selene—but forced it down. "Can we trust him?"

Sienna sneezed, then answered, "Blayze says we can. And I trust Blayze."

"Fine then. But we need to find some place to hunker down until we can figure out a plan. I still don't fully trust that elemental." Especially since he took her to begin with. Oh god, I hope she's okay…

…. …. ….

Klaus' POV

We were approaching the end of the wildlife trail through which the earl elemental was leading us. "I'm going to sneak you into the lower levels of the castle. You will be on your own from there. I can promise you that the human children will be left alone for the next three days, which is when the next draining is scheduled. His grace ignores them unless it's time for the draining. A servant brings them some food once a day, but he just slides it into the room, not even looking. Once you are done getting them out, press on the indent in this."

He handed Sienna—he wanted to associate as little with me, a human, as possible, but the fairy was perfectly alright—an inconspicuous little circular grey stone with shiny indent in the center. He continued, "It'll let me know that you're done, and I'll figure out a way to get you to your princess, and you all can get out of here. I will then report this whole thing to the Paladin, who will send a battalion or two to take care of his grace and those involved." I wonder why he still referred to the elemental responsible by his title. It was odd.

Sienna tilted her head, "But won't you get in trouble too?"

He shrugged, "Not as much as I could, since I plan on reporting it. Besides, it is my fault that I got involved in the first place. My consequences are my own. Now, go through here and it'll lead you to the room where they are held. It is a one-way entrance that his grace doesn't know about. Hurry." He pulled open a hidden door covered in vegetation. Hesitantly, Sienna and I went through it, and I felt a thread of worry inside me as it closed.

 _Selene, be safe. Please._

* * *

Selene (*glomps Klaus in a big hug*): I promise you I'm safe now! Don't you worry 'bout a thing!

Klaus (not even flinching): What I'm worried about now is the fact that you're late to pick up the twins from their friends house.

Selene (*gasps dramatically*): Crum! I forgot! (*rushes off*)

Elias (trying not to laugh): What would she do without you?

Authoress (not hesitating to laugh): Set more reminders on her phone. Use a planner. That's what she does when he's at work. She dosen't bother when he's here, though, because he reminds her regardless.

Klaus: I wouldn't do it if she'd do it on her own.

Aurora: Dad, uh, yeah you do. That's exactly what you do.

Klaus: Don't you have studying to do?

Aurora: Uh, dad, it's spring break. I finished all my homework and have studied plenty. Mom told me I wasn't allowed to study any more.

Klaus: I revoke that command.

Aurora: No offense, dad, but I'd rather not disobey mom. I learned early on it's better to obey mom's order if dad's then contradicts it.

Klaus: I feel attacked.

Authoress: She's your daughter. She's got your sharp tongue, Klaus.

Klaus: Don't you have stories to get to work on?

Authoress: Yup. But since they aren't actually due for a grade I've got leway. And, I'm busy laughing at you because your daughter openly admitted that Selene is to be feared more than you. Ha!


	72. Chapter 55

On a different note, the end is nigh! At least for Elemental. Seriously, guys, there are only four more chapters of this book to be posted after this one. It's crazy that I've finally made it here, and it's due to you guys, my awesome readers, that this happened. I've said it before and I can't say it enough, but thank you all so much for the amazing support you've all shown for the story and take pride in the knowledge that if it weren't for your support, this story would've died within ten chapters. You all are amazing. Thank you.

Now, replies to individual reviews:

PetVet1023: I actually got the idea from one of my friends. I was over at her house (she's got seven kids, including her, in her family, and she's the third oldest) and her dad came in. He cracked a joke and my friend was embarrassed, but she saw three of her younger siblings in the next room, so she shouted, "Get dad!" and the three of them ran to chase him. It was hilarious. Munchkins are powerful creatures, despite their lack of stature. And good deduction of the reasoning why Klaus and Selene both survive, seriously, good job. And you're welcome! I love replying to reviews, especially ones from such faithful reviewers as you.

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Chapter 55

Selene's POV

I was rudely awakened the next morning with a blow to my shoulder. I gasped in pain and moved awake, semi-conscious. Opening my eyes, I saw a water elemental who must have been half snow/ice type—icy blue hair, clear light blue eyes, pale blue tint to his skin, this wasn't SP, though, but a different brute—standing there, he was clearly the one who kicked me.

"Dude, there are other ways of waking people up, you moronic barbarian!" I hissed at him in my new third language, apparently called Element. How appropriate.

"You will shut your mouth and do as your told." it deadpanned.

I snorted, "Since when, in my time here, have I been very cooperative?" If focus was kept on me, they'd ignore Philyra, who was huddled in the corner, shaking in fear.

"Oh, princess, you'll cooperate eventually, whether you want to or not." Cooed a voice—Jerkwad's—from the open doorway. "Now, you've got to get dressed. We've got a meeting to attend, princess, and you need to be a little dolled up. One of my partners needs assurance that I've indeed done my end of the deal. Have it"—I bristled when he gestured to Lyra, who silently whimpered—"help you." He snapped his fingers and another minion set a bag in the room.

"How am I supposed to change when I'm, you know, strapped to the floor?" I sneered, jangling the chains.

"Oh, princess, come now, you're too pretty to be making such an ugly face." The creep smiled, then snapped his fingers. The minion who woke me up came over and inserted a key into a shackle, and it soon fell away from the cuff. He did it with the other three, and soon, I wasn't connected to the floor anymore—but I still had those magic-preventing manacles encasing my wrists and ankles. I tried. "Oh, and would you clean her too?" Suddenly it was frigid and wet, then I was dry, even though I still shivered. I looked at myself, sparkling clean—even the ratty clothes I was wearing were clean. The minion had used water magic on me. _**Cold**_ water magic.

The minion left. "I'm going to shut the door, but there will be guards waiting outside for you." Jerkwad said, then left, doing as he said he would.

Lyra, who was in better shape than I was at this point, crawled over to the bag before lugging it over towards me. I waved her away and unzipped it myself. Inside was a piece of pink clothing that was so pale that it was nearly white. I pulled it out. It was a fancy dress, with dark pink roses embroidered at the ends of the skirt and sleeves and neckline, along with the bodice.

I was never a big fan of roses.

…. …. ….

Thankfully, my legs were mostly alright. Other than cramped and bruised, nothing seemed to be broken. My ribs, on the other hand, I think had a few cracks, but no breaks. There were no bruises on my face, but they pretty much covered the rest of me. There were also shallow cuts on my back, though not to many. My muscles were stiff and cramped from being unused for about three weeks now. It's going to be painful getting back into shape, because if I'm here much longer I'll only be collecting more bruises and scrapes, most likely. And with the time it takes those to heal, I won't be able to start exercising until most of them are healed enough for me to move without wanting to wince.

I leaned a bit on Philyra as she helped me to the door. I was dressed in the fancy pink gown, which now went to a ragged line just above my ankles and to my shoulders instead of wrists. The embroidery at the bottom of the hemline and sleeves was gone, thank goodness. Talk about gaudy. I left my hair all tangled, because there was no brush and I didn't feel like finger-combing it. As I hobbled along next to the guards, I made a rash decision. This would probably hurt my poor body from the movements, but it was worth it. I leaned on Lyra less and prepared myself.

Then I snatched the belt knife of the guard closest to me. And before anyone could react, I gripped my long hair—in the months since I had cut it during my trial, it had grown about halfway down to my elbows—in one hand and quickly slashed it off with the knife, purposely cutting it to where it was uneven and choppy. The guards all stopped and I slipped the knife back in it's scabbard, then threw the locks of hair behind me."Sorry. It was getting annoying. We can proceed now." I said, proud of my sounding like some noble commenting on ridding themselves of a minor irritation. I leaned back on Lyra and we started forward. The shocked guards hurried to catch up and surround us again.

My hair, once long and fairly pretty, was now short and choppy—edgy, I liked to think. How appropriate.

Why get be fancy for Jerkwad? If I'm going to be fancy, I'd prefer to do it for Klaus.

' _...Did I seriously just think that? Seriously?_ ' I mentally laughed at myself.

Then it hit me.

I liked Klaus.

As in _like_ liked him.

Ha.

I was in love with my buddy.

Why else would he keep popping up in my thoughts? Why else would my subconscious keep wanting him to come save me?

I was in love with Klaus.

Well then.

Too bad I wasn't sure if I was ever going to see him again.

Klaus' POV

"Okay, they're all gone." I sighed and leaned against the wall. It had been two days of getting these kids out. Half of the kids from families were siblings, so Blayze took them close to their homes first. The kids that were orphans went to a witch—non-authorized practicer of magic who did it anyway—I know would take care of them until we could do something about all this. I sent her a note with the first batch, a girl of about fourteen and two boys, one around 10, the other 6. She sent a note back, agreeing, mostly because of the state the kids were in. While this particular woman wasn't a big fan of people in general, she had a soft spot for strays, human or animal. These little ones were enough to soften her heart so she'd take care of them for a while. There were about nine orphans, with six kids with families, the oldest fourteen and the youngest only one. I felt so bad for these kids. Each was starving-thin, pale, and dirty. The earl had said there were sixteen, but I'm thinking he might have been off a bit. No matter. They were safe now. When Blayze came back, he was half dead. I'm guessing this was because of the extreme amount of energy he had to use for the constant transfers. Hopefully he'll be fine soon enough for us to escape this wretched place.

Sienna had pressed the stone a few minutes ago and now we were just waiting. I casted a spell that would clean the muck off of me, and had the remainings of the spell float over to a corner with the little pile of yuck. I was clean. And Sienna had pointed out, trying to joke, that I looked a bit homeless with my now somewhat ragged clothes and the scruff on my face. There wasn't much I could do about it, so I shrugged it off.

About half an hour later the earl showed up.

"I apologize for not being here sooner," He said as he opened the door, "I couldn't get away any faster than I did. But we now need to hurry—she's in the most open position she can be in." He beckoned us to follow and continued quietly as we walked down the hallway, "The other person who's orchestrating all this has shown up. He wanted to make sure his grace kept his end of the deal in getting your princess. So his grace is bringing her to the main hallroom to show her off. There's tons of guards, but it's not magically hidden like the room she's being kept in. There will most likely be a fight. Is your immata up to one last transfer for you all? You'll probably need to make a quick getaway."

The immata, which was currently perched on my shoulder, head under its wing, resting, apparently sent a thought to Sienna, who was sitting in miniature form on my other shoulder, "He says he can, in a little bit. By the time we can, he'll probably be fine for it."

The earl nodded, "We near the first guards. I must go. The hall is ahead." He waved us on and took a right, apparently going an alternate route to return. Let's get this over with. I pulled out my wand and readied myself. Sienna flew off my shoulder and went into her full-sized form. I could feel the energy radiating off of her. She was mad, and ready to fight. Good.

Then she stopped, "Oh no…" she paled a bit, "Klaus, there's a, a demonic sort of thing nearby...I've got to go destroy it. I think it's the energy he's been storing...I need to make sure he can't use it. I'll meet you back at the battle! Come on Blayze!" The bird weakly flew into her arms and they started running in a different direction. I shook my head and kept running. Selene was my goal. She was more important than anything at this point.

Selene's POV

I sent Lyra to a corner, to hide herself, while I walked boldly—hiding how much it hurt, mostly because of my ribs—towards Jerkwad and the man, most likely another elemental, perhaps earth because he sure as heck didn't look like a fire would or the water ones did. Dark brown hair and eyes and very tanned skin. The guards stopped, and parted, revealing me.

The two turned towards me, "Ah, princess, you look lovely. It's a pity what you've done to the dress and your hair, though."

"I'd rather not trip and fall on my face." I said loftily, "That wouldn't be too graceful, now would it? As for my hair,"—I shrugged—"it was getting annoying. Not that it's any of your business, Jerkwad."

"Jerkwad?" the new elemental said, sounding amused.

"The two of us, ah, have an interesting relationship." Jerkwad said.

"If by interesting, you mean that you're an evil piece of scum that I utterly _loathe_ with all my heart, mind, and soul." I said cheerily, "I'd be perfectly happy if you just went and slit your wrists. Or your throat. Or anywhere that'd cause you to die a _slow, excruciating_ death."

"She's certainly lively." The smile on the newcomer was like he was condescending me, "She also looks just like her grandmother, down to the eyes!"

"I've decided something," I announced, "He's Jerkwad, but you,"—pointing to the newer person—"you're Dumb Diablo. Diablo, since you're such a moron you probably don't know what it means, translates to 'devil'." I gave him a clearly fake winning smile.

"Of course she's lively," Jerkwad continued as if I had never spoken, "She takes after the fire side of her heritage. Which is why she just needs to be tamed a bit. Fire is very easily managed after you show it who's in charge." Oh look, SP came back, and was standing off to the side of the room, looking inconspicuous. I think I'm the only one who noticed him come in.

"I'm not just fire—I'm pure, stubborn 21st century woman." I retorted, "fire can't compare to those whom it bare. Hey! I just made that up!" I giggled like I was insane.

Actually, it was time to start plan C. Actually it'd normally be plan B because it was our second idea, but I call it 'plan C' as in plan Crazy. I told Lyra what I mean to do.

"You know what I also made up?" I widened my eyes comically, "Ring around the rosies,"—pointed at some of the ones on my dress—"pockets full of dummies,"—pointed at Jerkwad and Dumb Diablo—"Ashes! Ashes! I'll burn you all _doooooown_!" I cackled like a mad woman, spinning in circles like a ditz. The guards inched away from me. Clearly something in my tone unnerved them.

Good.

"Oo! Oo! How about this? Can you answer this?" I looked at them, all eager, leaning forward and on my tippy toes. Dang, this dress is a bit too small around the torso and chest...or it could just be made like a corset. Anyway, I don't like how tight it is. "No legs have I to dance, no lungs have I to breathe, no life have I to live or die and yet I do all three! What am I? What _am_ I?" My voice was just ever-so-slightly higher pitched than it was before. "You'll _never ever_ get it! Neither of the two answers! Never! Never! _Neeee-ver!_ " I taunted, laughing again, well, 'twas more of a shrill squealing sort of laugh.

"Garrick," Dumb Diablo gave him a disapproving look, "Don't tell me you've broken her mind _that_ much. Those bruises I can see on her arms don't look like you've been treating her all that well."

"You're not even _trying_ to answer it!" I whined. They ignored me. Good.

"She's perfectly fine. I'm pretty sure she's just pretending. She's been as stubborn as her grandfather up until now."

"What am I? What am I!?" I shrieked, "WHAT AM I?!"

Dumb Diablo was looking like he didn't believe Jerkwad to much, and sank into the ground, teleporting in the way I'd been told earth elementals can do within the borders of the earth kingdom. Go me! Even though at this point my ribs and other parts of my body were throbbing painfully.

Jerkwad, on the other hand, was looking irritated, quite a lot. He marched over towards me, and was about to grab my arm when a large crashing BOOM! sound shook the room. The guards hurried to the large front doors of the room and they crashed open, a few other guards flying into the room. And there, looking worn and a bit ragged, was, was _Klaus_ , fighting several of the guards with magic. Oh, I love his magic...Selene! Not the time to be thinking about this!

Then the guards from this room joined their comrades. Jerkwad pulled me closer to the back of the room, where we were. Klaus was quickly overpowered, and I heard the snap of wood. "Klaus!" I screamed.


	73. Chapter 56

Sooo...my hell week is over! At least, that's what a few of my friends labeled last week. I had three days of testing, SAT on Tuesday, WorkKeys on Wednesday, and MSTEP on Thursday. I also had the blood drive I was chairperson-ing on the same day as the MSTEP, so I wasn't there the entire day like I normally am. But it went really well! There was even radio station people that came. Oh, yeah, and the last reason my friends called it my hell week was because it was also layout week for journalism, too. So I was after school pretty much every day for it. But, Friday was a half day and I got to go to my friend's house, where we painted our nails, finished altering my prom dress (it's this Saturday), and watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (because I got it for my birthday and it's my favorite movie _**EVER**_ )!

The best part is, the guy I'm crushing on (he's a good friend, but lives in a different state, so his spring break was last week) made it his personal goal to keep my spirits up and make me laugh. He literally told me was was going to fight my insomnia. He's so silly, and such a dork half the time, but I love it! ;)

Review! Singular! Because there was only one!

Missmoppit: I'm glad you got your account working again, and I'm thrilled you liked the recent chapters! I think you'll like this one—there's quite an unexpected (at least, I hope so) twist! I actually wrote a lot of this chapter very early on, as in, almost a year before I actually got to writing it. It's gone through a _lot_ of changes since then. Enjoy it!

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Chapter 56

Klaus's POV

I struggled and yelled as the inhuman guards held me in place. I had come so close, but it seemed as if I might as well be back at the Academy. These…beings overpowered me by a long shot. I was brought towards the center of the room. I could see Selene, in a ripped pale pink dress, her hair choppy and short, being held in place as she struggled by what I assumed was the elemental dule. And now, without my wand, I could do nothing to help her.

She has bruises on her bare arms. As fast as she usually healed, they had to be very recent. She has chains around her wrists and ankles, a face that's so pale it seemed like milk compared to the tanned complexion I had always known her to have.

And her eyes. Her eyes held pain, more than I had ever seen, and something I had seen only few times before, and never in this intensity. Fear. And she looked at me like she was terrified. Terrified for me, more scared for me than she was for herself.

She was still fighting though. She was struggling past where most would have given up. She was yanking on the person holding her, screaming in high, shrieking tones at them to let me go, to let me leave. She cared more about me getting away than she did her own self. That made me all the more determined to save her.

She realised her screaming was doing no good and turned to the it who had taken her, a well-dressed, rich-looking elemental, whose smug look and greedy eyes made me sick. And knowing that all of her suffering was his fault made me hate him more than anyone else I had ever known. He was responsible for those bruises. Those marks. Her current state of mind. She fell to her knees and clasped her hands.

" **Please! Let him go!** " She begged, her voice cracking, " **He's done nothing wrong!** " She spoke in a language I didn't know, the same one the elemental who had aided us had spoken in.

" **And why should I? He's broken into my house, immobilised several of my men, and destroyed a good deal of my possessions. I've had people executed for less.** " His eyes kept scanning her body, making my anger burn even more. " **Give me a reason to let him go.** "

She hesitated and looked down, " **I–I'll do…anything…** " she whispered.

His eyebrows raised, and his lips curled into a smirk. " **Anything, you say? So you'll agree to become my weapon?** "

"NO!" I roared, "Selene! I promised your brothers, myself, I'd get you out of here! It doesn't matter if I die! _You_ must get out of here!"

She glanced back at me, on the brink of tears and biting her lip, "It does. It matters. I'm sorry, Klaus, but I can't let you die. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I'm sorry for being selfish, but I can't. Tell my family and friends that I love them all, will you?" She almost sounded like she had given up. She _had_ given up.

I opened my mouth to say something, but the duke flicked his hand and I was suddenly unable to speak. Whatever words were about to leave my mouth were unable to leave my vocal cords.

He pulled her up, his left arm wrapping itself around her waist, the other winding itself in her hair and yanking her head back. She gritted her teeth, trying not to cry out in pain. " **I think I'll make him watch for a while. After all, he must be punished somehow. What better way then watching his beloved be taken before his eyes? For he must love you a great deal to work so hard to recover you. This'll be fun—especially when there's** _ **nothing**_ **he can do about it.** " The man's laugh made me want to rip him apart. I thrashed even more as the hand he had in her short hair yanked again. I saw a single tear slide down Selene's cheek, her eyelids screwed shut and biting her lip so hard blood began to slowly drip from it, trailing down her chin from the side. I could see the trembling in her fisted hands.

I had to do something. What? Then I remembered that I had Selene's wand hidden in my boot. They hadn't taken it because when they searched me for weapons using magic—Selene's unique wand had remained undetected. I couldn't use it, no one but Selene could. It was practically a part of her. But it there was some way I would get it to her…if Sienna were here, she'd be able to use her magic, but she was elsewhere, taking care of a different evil.

I'd have to break a few rules. I'd have to use magic without a medium to direct it, to make it fly to Selene. It's dangerous, because without extreme focus it could blow up in my face. But one more look at Selene and there was no question.

I focus on the wand harder than I ever have when using magic. To my surprise, it readily responded and flew out of my boot and towards Selene like an arrow. "Selene! _Catch_!"

Her eyes snapped open and widened as they saw the wand. But as soon she reached out for it, her hands were grabbed and the wand was caught by another hand. _His_ hand. Crap!

He laughed, clutching Selene to him with one arm, making Selene flinch involuntarily as his breath was in her ear. He was speaking to me, now, in my language. "Clever, mortal. Real clever. But not clever enough, I'm afraid. I learned how to sense Cadeyrn's unique magical creations a while back." His ankle hooked with hers and the arm whose hand had been holding her hands released them and moved to where the hand of the arm around her neck was. She pulled at the arm that was choking her with what feeble strength she had left after so many weeks of mistreatment and abuse.

The way her held her wand was like he was going to…he was going to snap it. "I guess I'm just going to have to get rid of this, so it won't get in my way, won't I?" At this point, Selene's face was turning blue and her eyes bulged. I silently yelled curses at this monster.

Then he snapped the wand.

Third Person POV

A hot blast went through the room, making the phoenixan noble slam into the wall ten feet behind him, and knocking every other being in the room but on off their feet. A fiery tornado was rapidly spinning where Selene was and a roar far too loud and savage to be human literally shook the room, causing stone dust to flutter down from the ceiling.

A deep cackle rang through the room, "Man, it's been a long time since I've had control! Nearly seventeen years! I'd thank you, Jerkwad, if I didn't absolutely _loath_ you so much." The storm of fire dissipated, leaving a girl who looked like Selene, but covered in fine bronze scales, with hair and slitted serpentine eyes to match. Manacles that had once bound the wrists and ankles had melted to glowing puddles at it's feet. The voice was deeper than Selene's and the manner in which it stood could be likened unto a snake ready to strike. "Now I'll get to make you pay! How dare you put us through that?! You'll regret being born!" Fire began to burn along the creature, but it didn't seem to notice. "So I'm taking it you'll help, Celeste? Good. All the more fun, I say!" It flicked it's hand, flinging the man to the side with an invisible force. It began to toy with it's once-captor, tossing the elemental around like a rag doll and taking slow steps toward the him, beginning shooting white hot flames at the man, making him scream as they lightly brushed against any exposed limb, to make him feel just as much pain as it had experienced.

Klaus stared, eyes wide, unable to move due to shock and the ankle he had landed on funny. What was happening? What had happened to his Selene?

The guards who had been holding him scrambled up and rushed over, extending their hands. Air swirled around…Selene?…making the flames on it dim for a moment before they began growing stronger. It stopped its attacks on the man who had kept it prisoner and turned to face the men. "The little 'remove the oxygen, kill the flame' trick won't affect me. I'm not like the other fire types, fools. I've got wind too…do you know what the answers to that riddle were? My elements, wind and fire!" that laugh scared Klaus. It sounded too…cruel and angry to be Selene. Selene could never sound like that.

It flicked her hand at each guard, one by one, sending them flying, hitting the walls or floor, being knocked unconscious. It turned back to the man to had hurt her so. "Now, back to our little _game!_ " It howled with bitter laughter, beginning again to shoot little streams of white-hot flames at the now-screaming man.

"Stop!" Cried Klaus, "Selene, stop! Don't lower yourself to his level!"

At the sound of her buddy's voice it lowered her hand and sighed, "You're right. She would be really annoyed if I killed someone. I'll settle for knocking him out." The voice was no longer so masculine, now sounding like a woman's weary tone. She spun and slammed the heel of her right foot into the side of the man's skull, making his eyes roll back and knocking him out cold.

Her hair went rapidly from being bronze to seeming to be made of flames—the scales faded, leaving too-pale golden skin, with hints of rapidly fading bruises and quickly healing cuts where shackles once were, leaving hairline scars that were bright red around her wrists, ankles, and neck. The flames of her hair calmed a bit as she turned around and began walking towards Klaus. She grabbed the two pieces of what was once a silvery wand with golden veins. Her expression completely different, the savage, sadistic look that had earlier twisted the features of the reptilian being it had been gone. Now she looked worried and tired. She knelt down by Klaus and he eyed her warily, noting that the eyes of this person before him were an inhuman gold. "Are you okay?" She sounded almost like Selene, though more like an older, more adult-like Selene. "You've no need to be scared of me." She whispers, looking down. "Angel is quiet, for now."

"You healed fast." He remarked, unsure of what to say, "And what about all the guards?"

"The elements always do. I guess you'll be wanting an explanation. I'll give it to you if you'll let me heal any injuries you have…as for the guards, they won't be waking up for a while. SP, that earl person, has already left to contact the Paladin. They'll be here before morning, long before Jerkwad and any of his minions awake. What parts of you are wounded?"

"Other than my ankle, only a few bumps and bruises. Nothing I can't fix."

She looked him in the eyes, and only his pride kept him from looking away from the piercing golden eyes. "Not without a wand. Which you don't have. And which none of the people here use. Let me help. I'll only do it if you let me, though." She looked worried, her hair flickering weakly.

"Fine. But I'll hold you to your promise of an explanation."

She smiled ever so softly, "Of course." She pressed a finger to the tip of Klaus' nose. Immediately a strange magic swept through him, and every bruise and cut and his twisted ankle healed themselves. "There. I just sped up the natural healing process. That's what the pure healing magic of a true elemental form does naturally, but I'm able to let it filter into other creatures who aren't elementals, mostly humans."

"So you know you're only half human, then." He said, sounding unsure as she sat a few feet in front of him, curling her knees into her chest.

"I do. Selene's the one who didn't, until recently. She didn't know I was sealed in her, or that Angel was. She guessed at my presence, but Angel was buried a bit too deep to ever show himself. He's sleeping now. He's as tired as the rest of us. That fire storm was a huge burst of energy that had been pent up from being confined by those restraints, but most of the magical energy we had is used up. Do you know about how elementals have three forms then?"

He nodded, "Yeah, the human, the element, and the animal. I'm guessing you're the element, from your hair?"

She nodded, "Since I'm half human, I don't completely transform, but retain some sort of human form. I'm the elemental, while the Selene you know is the human, and she's the one usually in control. Angel, what you saw when the wand was snapped, was the animal side. He's a dragon of sorts."

"Then are you still Selene when you're like this?"

"Well…how do I put this…there are two different sides to a coin, correct?" He nodded. "Let's put it this way. Each side has a different picture, right? It's still the same coin, whether one side be face up or the other. I'm like that. I'm the tails to the heads of the girl you've grown to know. It's like…she's Selene and I'm Celeste. It's still our name, but they're different parts of our name. Just call me Celeste if it makes it easier. I am literally the more fiery one of us." Her weak attempt at a joke made Klaus smile ever so slightly. "Angel, though, is a bit different. He's almost like a protector—a 'Guardian Angel' or sorts, which is why I gave him that name. He's like the hidden edge of the coin. And just as difficult. Our father, whoever he was, knew that for half human elementals the elemental and animal sides can be overpowering. A halfling of our sort isn't as...as smoothly combined as a full elemental. Instead of the three forms being seamlessly melded together as one consciousness, they are three separate consciousness that share the same existence. The reason for this is in the fact that we are half human—in a full elemental, each side is equal, in a human halfling, they are not. Humans tend to be stubborn that way."

"I was told by Sienna—she's a fire fairy who's been watching over you for the past few months on orders from your father, and she and Blayze helped me get here—that you can't be resealed unless you consent this time. Are you going to?" He asked. He wanted to move closer to her, but he didn't know if that was wise.

"No." She responded gently. "But I will cooperate with her. It's better if we coexist. It'll make it easier for the both of us. If I was entirely fire, I'd probably refuse out of sheer stubbornness. But I'm tempered with wind, so I'm a bit more reasonable. I don't want to be resealed, but I don't want to cause trouble. Does this all make sense?" She bit her lip at the end of the last sentence. "Angel, though, will need to be sealed again. Until Selene and I can work to 'tame' him in a way. With the way he is, he's not what you consider safe in everyday life. He will seek to eliminate and destroy anything he perceives as a threat. Eventually we'll be able to make him understand what is and isn't a real threat—he works off more of instinct than anything, being more animalistic in mindset."

"Then she'll be different than she was before?" He asked, not meeting her eyes.

* * *

Authoress: So you've all seen what happens when the seal is broken. How will the two persona's that are a part of Selene effect how she is from here on out? Will she ever have them resealed? Can they be resealed? So many questions, so little time in this ender!

Selene: This is so short because you're almost late with this because you didn't start working on editing the chapters early enough last week.

Authoress: It's my fault, yada, yada, but this chapter is important so I'm going to end the ender here. Stay tuned and come back in two weeks for more, dearest readers!


	74. Chapter 57

Hey, I've actually got a challenge for you all this time, my dearest readers. I want you to sort all of the OCs I've got stories for (if you want to do it for the ones that have only been mentioned in specials, feel free) into Hogwarts houses. But you have to give me a reason, a good one, as to why. If you'd like, you can also do it for the guys (my OC or otherwise), as long as it's based, not on the way they are in the game, but on the way I portray them. I want to see how your ideas match up with mine. You guys have until the first chapter of Halfling, which is coming up. Only two more chapters of Elemental after this one. So you guys have about a month and a half to think of this before I reveal my own ideas. I'll remind y'all each chapter. Have fun!

Also, I've updated Chapter 27. I added a couple small things that aren't really important until Halfling, but I'd got back and give it a quick look through. It'll give you one of those "Ah-ha." moments when we reach that part in Halfling.

Also, reviews!

Daisy Pragnya: I'm glad you like Celeste. I kind of picture her as the full blown version of what Klaus calls Selene's "motherly" side. She's kind of like a big sister persona, in a way.

Missmoppit: I'm glad it was able to trigger such a strong emotional response—it means I succeeded in what I was trying to do. But, I have to break it to you, but this is Selene's new normal. Angel will be quite for a while, but he'll become problematic in the future. Celeste will only chime in now and again, but she's content with just observing. But she'll never be able to go back to who she once was. As for Hell Week, I did survive. I even had a great friend (who also happens to be the guy I like XD) who was determined to make me smile and laugh when it got to bad. He literally offered to fight me insomnia. I adore that boy. He's such a perfect sweetheart. :)

Sybbie: Oh, sweetie, you don't need to apologize. I'm just happy you're reading it. As long as you do that, that's all I really care about. Promise! I know very well how crazy life can be—it wouldn't be life otherwise, would it?

* * *

Chapter 57

Klaus's POV

"Then she'll be different than she was before?" I asked, not meeting her eyes.

"She may be a little 'stranger' than normal because the two of us will be able to talk, but it's nothing really new. She often talked to herself to begin with. Perhaps it was because somewhere in the subconscious she knew someone was listening, which I was, in a way. Being under the seal really only muffled things." Celeste laughs softly, exhaustion clearly able to be heard in her voice. "And because we're half human, I look older when I'm in control because phoenixes, elementals, whatever you want to call them, reach adulthood faster and stay there far longer. I am also unable to fully transform into my element because of the amount of human in me. I will be as I am now, though hopefully not so weak in the future. Angel, as you saw, is the most dramatic in his transformation, though he cannot turn fully into a dragon anymore than I can into my element." She was swaying, and I remembered just how drained she must be.

A girl, who I hadn't noticed until now, ran up to Sel-Celeste, and muttered something.

"Oh yeah, this is Philyra…" Celeste's eyes were starting to flutter, "She's my new sister, and is kinda shy and such...she's coming with me...not sorry..."

She started falling asleep sitting there. I got up and went over, picking her up. Philyra, the girl, shyly backed away, seeing my intentions. "I'll take her. We need to go find Sienna and Blayze, so we can all go back to Myula.

"Thank you…" Celeste whispered a sigh, a content little sound, "Thank you for saving me. It'll be Selene in control once we wake up, so don't worry. I...I'll take care of...Angel...good ni-ight…" she muttered as she yawned again.

"Sleep tight." But she was already asleep. She almost seemed to shrink a little, like she was growing younger. I held her a little tighter. She was warmer than normal and holding her felt wonderful, despite how tired I was as well. But what worried me was that she was definitely lighter, thinner than she was before this whole ordeal. Unhealthily so. "Come on, Miss Philyra, let's go find the fairy and the familiar. You're safe now." I guess I'd found the sixteenth child. And from what Celeste said, I doubt she'll be leaving Selene's side for a while. The girl-child nodded and followed behind me. I noticed that she still had shackles. We'd have to find a way to get rid of those. None of the other kids had them, but then again none of them were ever to leave that wretched room.

We found a soot and ash covered Sienna and Blayze sometime later. Sienna magicked off Philyra's chains, and Blayze took us back to Myula. Selene slept through it all. But it wasn't to the academy, or even the witch's place.

We found ourselves outside a small castle, grand and empty, with no other buildings in site. This place looked familiar. Then it struck me, "I've only seen in it pictures, but I'm sure that this is the castle of Aless, a famous wizardess. She was originally from a small northern village, not even knowing about her magical talents throughout her childhood. But a near accident awakened her powers, revealing her abilities. She grew up to be a famed wizardess of immense power. But as she went on, she preferred to keep to herself, something which lead her to build herself a castle away from people...in a single evening, no less. That was hundreds of years ago, but the castle still remains, unchanged. No one has been able to enter it, either, for strong magic holds it yet."

"That's amazing…she was amazing...you must show me this book you read..." I looked down to see Selene—the eyes were silver-grey again—yawning, "I feel a bit better now, Klaus. I'm sorry for troubling you so much…you can probably put me down, now…" I'm not sure if I saw it or not in the fading light, but she may have been blushing. Regardless, I did set her down. She leaned against her new "sister," still not very strong. I wonder if I shouldn't have put her down after all, but then remembered how stubborn she was and rescinded the thought.

"I can feel such strong magic coming from it…" Sienna said in awe, cradling an exhausted Blayze in her arms, "This Aless, she was definitely not the average wizardess...she might have been of near fairy-descent…she lived so long ago, yet you can still feel a unique magic just...pulsating from it. She might've even been a halfling like Selene. I feel some strong wind aura mixed in with it."

Selene's POV

"Our one problem is the fact that it's also hundreds of miles from the academy. It's not even in Gedonelune, but the country next to it." Klaus pointed out, "And it just as far from Ms. Zana's home." Ms. Zana was some witch Klaus knew, and who the kids who were imprisoned were currently with.

"Blayze was too tired to do more than transfer us to the exact spot on Myula that corresponds with Elementum. It makes sense that a castle would be in the same place as a castle." Sienna explained, "But at least we're in the same world." Apparently, this is the fire fairy who my once-thought-dead father assigned to look after me. I'm not even sure how to feel. I'm still too tired to think completely straight. I think I'm going to actually think about all that later.

As she and Klaus try and figure out what to do next, I felt an urge to walk up to the castle, and Lyra helped me without my even having to ask. Slowly we made our way up the front steps. The large front door was made of sturdy, old wood carved with all sorts of symbols. I ran a finger down it, and it was warm, despite the chill of the new-night air that was making me shiver every time it stirred. There was a brass doorknob in the shape of a lily. Lily's weren't like some flowers with a thousand petals, overlapping one another and all complex. They were simple, yet lovely for their simplicity. I far prefered them to roses. "I think we would've gotten along well, Aless." I whispered gently as I reached for it, stroking it with a single finger.

I heard a bird-like squawk as the knob started to glow, and was fairly bright in the darkness. "Hmm?" I hummed in confusion. I heard Klaus gasp and start to run towards us, and felt the ground start to tremble slightly beneath my feet.

There was a bang, and I felt a force pulling Lyra and I in, and just as Klaus and Sienna (still carrying Blayze) reached us, grabbing hold of part of us, I gasped and everything went far blacker than the night we had been in.

' _Welcome, sister. You seem to be in need of help._ '

' _Who are you?_ ' I thought, since I couldn't see or feel anything, ' _Where are you?_ '

' _We mean you no harm. If you can figure out the secret of this place, you can stay here until you are rested. It's the least we can do for a wind-sister, even if you are of fire more than you are of your wind. Now, wake, little sister, wake..._ '

"Selene! Selene, wake up!" Someone shook me, and I peered out through cracked eyes.

"Klaus?" I carefully reached up and rubbed my eyes, "Did you hear that? And I'm hungry…" The grand hall we were in glowed a with a warm, unseen light.

I heard a sigh, "You pass out and the first thing you ask for is food. The answer is yes, we have a little food." He took my hand and helped me up. "You weren't out for long, though, just a few minutes." He dug in his bag and handed me a bundle, which I unwrapped. It had something like raspberries in it. Yum.

"If what you said is true, Klaus, then we must be the first ones to be in here since Aless herself." Sienna said.

"She called me sister. The voice I heard before I woke up." I said softly before putting a few more of the tart berries in my mouth.

"Selene," Klaus began, shaking his head, "I'm starting to think you're more trouble than you're worth."

I snorted, "If you're really the genius they say you are, you would've figured that out a long time ago, Emperor." The two of us glanced at each other, then started to laugh. I was laughing so hard I had to sit down on the ground. It felt like such a joy, being able to laugh freely and without a care, that I felt my entire self lightened. I was laughing so hard tears of relief start streaming down my face.

After a while I managed to calm down, and Klaus helped me back up. I wiped away tears as I said, "We should probably get going. The voice—she—said we could rest here if we figured out the secret of this place." I leaned on Klaus' arm this time, because poor Lyra probably couldn't take to much more of supporting me. We started walking, then Klaus decided it would be faster to just scoop me up and walk.

"K-klaus! There's no need!" I cried, "I can walk by myself."

"It's faster." He said.

"Well thank you for your response, Yukiya." I swear, it's exactly what Yukiya would've said. "And I don't know if it's just me, or what, but we've been past this place before. At least a few times. Are we going in circles?"

"We are!" cried Sienna, "I can't believe I didn't realize that!"

Philyra tugged on my arm (she had gone back to not speaking once the shackles that prevented her magic were off), and pointed to a suit of armor. One just like the other's lining the wall, the lily on the ends of the sword hilts and all, except for it's arm was raised up.

"Do you think it has something to do with it, Lyra?" I asked her and she nodded. I hopped out of Klaus' arms before he could stop me and hobbled over to it. I reached up and tried to pull it down. I didn't have the strength. I lifted my feet and hung on. Apparently I wasn't heavy enough either. Drat.

Klaus sighed, "Let me help." He came over and helped me pull the armor's arm (ha! _Arm_ or's arm!...I clearly need a good night's sleep...) down. With a loud click, the hallway in front of us swirled and shifted into a stairway.

I groaned, "It goes up...ugh…"

I yelped as Klaus suddenly, once more, scooped me up like I weighed absolutely nothing. Then I sighed, "You're so stubborn sometimes."

"Pot." Somewhere along the line, I introduced Klaus to the saying "the pot calling the kettle black." I regret that a bit now.

I stuck my tongue out. "If you want to climb all those stairs while wearing a bag and holding a person, be my guest. Less work for me." I said, trying to pull off the "rich person smells something bad" look.

He smirks, "That _was_ the point, shortie."

"Well, your Rudeness, start climbing then."

He chuckled and began climbing, us being trailed by the others. I felt the vibration of that laugh in his chest. It was an oddly comforting feeling.

The second floor was one giant garden, one I stared at in awe, saying "The most beautiful thing about nature is that it can take care of itself." The walls were covered luminescent moss, and the glow gave the garden a magical feel. Even more so that it normally would have in the daytime, I'm guessing. It was beyond beautiful. "How do you have a garden like this even when it's not on the ground?" There were far more kinds of plants than I ever could hope to name, the biggest variety of a single kind of plant, as far as I could see, were the lilies. Every kind imaginable. There were other flowers, loads of them, but none so much as the lilies.

"Wind and earth magic." Sienna said, "This confirms it. This Aless woman was definitely a halfling, probably a mixture of wind and earth.

"She was worshipped as a great witch," Klaus said, "and feared just as much. I can't imagine, from everything we've seen so far, that she wished either. I suppose that's why she lived out in the middle of nowhere, all by herself."

"I guess secluding yourself is the easiest way to avoid people treating you in such a manner." I said, "I personally would've resorted to other methods, mostly because I don't think I could keep my sanity without other people, but perhaps it got so bad she felt this was the only way. I'd bet, if she did have earth magic, she built this garden to keep her company."

"And I'd bet most anything that there's people who couldn't live without you either." Klaus said, "I for one know more than I can count in your immediate family alone."

I smiled, "I do have an abnormally large family."

' _You really are blessed…_ ' I thought I heard a sigh on a little draft of wind that drifted over my face, but I couldn't quite tell if I actually heard it or not. I didn't want to freak anyone out, so I stayed silent about it. ' _Over here...come over here…_ ' Okay, I definitely heard something. I peered over Klaus' shoulder and saw a door of light where there had been a dead end as we passed it. "Hey, let's go that way."

Klaus turned to look where I pointed, "That's a dead end, Selene."

"Trust me. Just trust me."

"I can see it too, Selene. Klaus, listen to her. Let's go that way." Sienna added, nodding at me.

He sighed and started walking a different direction. I made him put me down as we approached, and I walked over shakily. He saw the door now, but to him it wasn't glowing. There was a lily-shaped doorknob. I put a finger to it, expecting to be sucked in magically again, but that wasn't the case. So I gripped it and turned the handle.

* * *

Authoress: I think that ended with the perfect amount of cliffhanger suspense.

Aurora: I, as well as the readers, I'm sure, disagree with that. Cliffhangers are frustrating.

Authoress: Only for the readers. They're quite fun for the the writers. At least I don't have Selene and Klaus falling off a read cliff and am making my readers wait a year before the next part of the story. I'm not that mean.

Aurora: I'll give you that. It could be worse, I suppose.


	75. Chapter 58

Missmoppit: Thanks! And honestly, Selene is going to be having a lot more trouble in Halfling. It's just going to be rough patch after rough patch. But I read a quote where someone compared characters to geodes. You have to break them for them to be able to show their true beauty and worth. It'll be worth it in the end. Promise. And what you've been waiting for is about to happen. Just not in the way you may expect. :3

Daisy Pragnya: I'm not sure what's happened, but your review came to my email, but isn't showing up on the site? I don't know, but if they don't fix it soon, I'm sending support an email. But from what I could see in the email, thanks! Celeste is pretty cool, I agree. Angel is boss, but he's problematic.

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Chapter 58

I opened the door. There was an empty room, the walls all stone. There was a large, ovalish-shaped hole in the wall that, I guess, wasn't originally there. It let in the light of the almost-full moon, lighting up the room more than enough to see clearly. I could see the middle branches of a tree through it.

"I thought we were higher up." I said.

"I've been thinking that the areas in this manor aren't connected in the normal way, as expected since the entire place was made with magic. I've heard of doors that lead to anywhere you want them to, but not an entire castle of the same principal," Klaus sighed. "But then again, I should stop thinking I know so much when I keep learning things to prove wrong what I've previously learned."

"Good choice," I teased. "And if what you've just explained is true, I'm guessing at something else. We don't know what's in the manor, so we don't know where we want to go. I think this castle is leading us where it's magic wants us to go."

"That sounds reasonable," he agreed.

I glanced at a spot where the light seemed to gather. There was a stone marker. Grave, I'm don't know. It was surrounded by lilies. But I've never seen such a lily. They were a gentle brown with glowing silver threads. There was magic in them. I could tell.

I carefully walked over and knelt by the stone. There was a lily mark on the stone, carved with a careful hand. The words weren't in English or Myulan. But I could still read them. "'I do not rest here.'"

"Huh?" Klaus said, "You can read that? This stone, it looks almost like an old grave."

"That's what it says. 'I do not rest here'." I said, no louder than I had to, "I don't think it's a grave, though. But perhaps something was buried here." I reached out and brushed the lily on the stone—lilies seemed to be the triggers in this place. I didn't even gasp as it started to glow, though Sienna did.

"What's wrong?" Klaus asked, confused. I hushed him and backed up. An image appeared before my eyes, like a 3D projection.

It was a woman, with a shovel in hand. The image was from daytime, and I could clearly see her, though I don't think anyone but Sienna and I could. She had blond hair, paler than mine, and beautiful, gemlike pink eyes. She looked at the little hole she'd dug and pulled a small silver key out of her pocket and placed it gently in the hole. " _I bury the magic and the key here. I, the elemental in me, the magic, is no more. The great witch...is no longer."_ The image faded from view. That voice...it was the same one that had been speaking to me.

"That had to have been Aless. She...she put her magic in here. She separated everything that made her a halfling, anything of her elementalism, from herself, sealed it into a key, and...buried it here." I went to the grave again and began to dig with my hand. It came away easily, like fresh soil. No one disturbed me, but they all watched, unable to bring themselves to do anything. "She looked younger than me, even. No more than fifteen. It must have been lonely, to be isolated for something you couldn't help, something you were born with."

Eventually my nails hit something hard. I pulled out a small key, and it was glowing with a dim pink-silver light, magic and moonlight. The flowers that had surrounded it stopped glowing.

"I can see a barrier around it. How are you able to touch it?" Klaus reached to it, but his hand couldn't get within a foot of it, and slid away like it had an invisible bubble around it.

"I think that Aless wanted it to be found, by someone like her, a halfling like Selene." Sienna said, "Selene, didn't you say that the voice called you 'sister'?"

I nodded, and turned the key over in my hand. There was a lily outline in the top of the key. I brushed my thumb against it. ' _Thank you, wind-sister, we've had fun…_ '

Klaus made a startled noise, and Philyra jumped. They had heard them, too.

"You're welcome, Ales, or rather, her missing selves. She may have separated your human from your animal, your element, but you two are still here, aren't you? Waiting, hoping to be found." I held the key to my heart. "You won't be alone anymore." I kept the key in my hand as I stood up.

"No one ever did know what became of her. She disappeared, and wasn't seen or heard from again." Klaus commented.

"I guess we know now. I'd guess her human self went back to having a normal life. I don't think she understood that she left behind not only her magic, but two actually personages. I don't think I could leave mine behind, no matter how much trouble they are." I felt sad that anyone could give up such important parts of their very being, just for the desire to be like everyone else. Some people I guess, though, feel that pull far more than others. I feel bad for her.

"Have either of them said anything to you?" Sienna asked.

I shook my head, "I'm guessing they're tired out. They used so much magical power protecting this place for so long, and leading us here. The only thing keeping _me_ going is reserves of energy...remind me to explain my theory of overtiredness sometime...when my mind is a little more...organized and...awake…"

I swayed as my vision narrowed. The last thing I felt was strong, warm arms catching me before I hit the ground…

…. …. ….

I inhaled sharply as I sat up. The dream in which I'd been trapped had consisted of half-real memories and half-imagination terrors. I was never in a cage. Not once. Never had I been locked into anything but chains, and those I couldn't really count.

Where was I? It was some sort of room, that was sure. Were we still in the castle? I think so. The key was on a nightstand next to the table.

I heard someone move next to me. I jumped and spun my head, then relaxed. It was only Klaus, who had apparently fallen asleep in a chair by the bed. But he was up now. "Oh, did I wake you? Sorry…" I liked to think I was imagining the tremble in my voice.

"Yes. You did." He whispered back, blunt as ever, "But you don't need to apologize. Are you okay?"

I thought about telling him I was. I did. But I knew he wouldn't believe me, so I shook my head, "Nightmare. I'll get over it." He laid a hand on my shoulder, and I knew he could feel me trembling. I hated coming off as weak, hated being pathetic like this.

"Scoot over." He said simply. I did so, too surprised to protest, and he climbed in next to me. He put his arms around me and simply held me. As I relaxed into him, I thought about how, just this once, it was kind of nice to feel like I needed help. And he kept helping me, whether I asked it or not. So I might as well enjoy it.

Klaus' POV

I don't know what possessed me, I really don't. But I was now holding her, trying to sooth her fears. She always acted so tough, so strong. I had to make her realize that it was okay, sometimes, to lean on other people. She made me realize that, and I'm going to return the favor. I felt her arms slide around my neck, and she hugged me back, leaning her head on my shoulder. She fit almost exactly in my arms, and I knew that once she was back to her normal physical state, she'd fit perfectly. She was so much thinner than she should be.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" That's the same question, I realized, that I'd ask Elias when he was little and had a bad dream. It's been a long time since then, hasn't it?

"Not really, but...can we stay like this?" She asked, her voice small. I responded by tightening my arms a little and beginning to stroke her hair. She buried her face in my shoulder. She was warm. At least that didn't change.

A little while later, she spoke up, "Klaus, I have something to tell you."

"Yes?"

"Well, while I was still captive and whatnot, I realized something."

"What?"

She pulled back and looked me in the eyes, then seemed to lose her nerve, "Umm…" she looked down again.

"What is it?" I said gently.

She inhaled, then exhaled, slowly, slowly. Then she looked up, a determined glint in her eyes and...kissed me.

My eyes widened for a moment, then fluttered shut as I began to kiss her back.

I hadn't allowed myself to imagine what kissing Selene would be like, but even in those little fantasies that slipped through my control, never had I imagined it'd be in this situation, under these conditions. I'd thought it be much more...romantic and storybook like, as silly as that sounds. Not after what happened, at least, not the way it all happened. In the end, it was her who saved me and freed herself. Some knight in shining armor I am.

I leaned her back as I deepened the kiss, feeling my self-control slip further away. She clung to me, needy, almost desperate.

This was another thing I hadn't anticipated. How hard it would be to hold back.

She pulled me forward, falling back onto the bed. I moved my lips down her neck, enjoying the little gasping sounds that came from her throat, feeling a thrill each time one of those gasps contained my name. I eventually made my way back up her her lips, bracing myself with one arm next to her head.

But then I felt her trembling, and it jolted me back into a more organized state of mind. "Gak!" I made a startled noise, and stumbled backwards, falling back into the chair, "I'm so so sorry, I didn't mean to do that…ah...uh..." I felt red rise in my face and wasn't sure of what to do, and felt more awkward than I felt was possible. Is this how Elias feels when he's in uncomfortable social situations? I'm never going to force him to talk to strangers at our parent's parties ever again.

Then she laughed. It was a small, little, breathy "Ha," but she was smiling.

"What's so funny?!" I demanded, far more harshly than I intended.

She propped herself up on her elbows, smiling and looking happier than I'd seen her in a while, "I guess I don't even have to worry about being rejected, do I?"

This startled a laugh out of me, "Well, you finally figured it out. Took you long enough."

She stuck her tongue out at me, sitting up completely, "Oh come on, cut me some slack! I started noticing that I felt strange around you about two months ago, but I didn't figure it out until a few days ago, and when you rescued me, I was in a dreamlike state from exhaustion and such that this seems to be the first time I'm actually awake!"

"Only two months ago?" I barked a quick laugh, "I figured it out within two weeks of meeting you!"

"Well, your Rudeness," she invoked the old nickname, "not all of us are of the genius rank!"

"Too bad for you, then. Now, go back to bed."

"Only if you're next to me." She said, then grinned when she saw my face redden. "I mean, what if the nightmares come back?" She gave me a pouty face and I sighed before climbing into the bed next to her. She giggled and snuggled into me. I think she knew exactly what she was doing to my heart, the little manipulator. But I'd let it slide this time.

Because, until now, I hadn't realized just how much I'd missed our banter. How much I missed just talking with her, being next to her.

Love is far more strange than I could've ever imagined. But perhaps that's the point.

* * *

Authoress: There y'all go! It happened! 58 chapters and it finally happened!

Aurora: Wow. Dad was such a teenage boy, no matter how he'll deny it.

Selene: He was a teenage boy. Nineteen years old. I was almost seventeen at the time.

Aurora: And mom, seriously? It took you that long to figure it out? I've been able to tell for several chapters before you realised it. You're so good at emotion things, but you took that long to figure it out?

Selene: You must remember I grew up as the friend or the "little-sister" or "little-mother" type person to most every guy I knew. I didn't really understand romantic love very well.

Authoress: You do have to cut her some slack, both because of those reasons and the fact that I was stretching it out because it made it more realistic than having them get together in like two weeks. But I do hope, readers, the worth was wait it!

Aurora: Authoress, go to bed. When the last time you actually slept?

Authoress: …

Selene (*laughing*): I think you're the one we need to cut some slack.


	76. Chapter 59—The Finale

When dialogue is like ' _this_ ' it means Celeste is talking. When dialogue is like 'this' It's Selene responding without speaking aloud.

Okay. I've got some not-so-happy news. After this, the entirety of the Spiral is going to be put on Hiatus. But not for long. I promise. Until the end of the summer, at most. It'll probably restart before then. It depends. I just need a little time to get the next part of the story figured out and written. I'm hoping that a little more breathing room will allow me to produce more quality writing, particularly when I get to places where I need to add in details in earlier chapters. It wasn't such a problem in Elemental, but in Halfling, it and the side stories are a little more closely related to the main one, it's imperative that I be able to more easily go back and fix/change things without risking the confusion of my wonderful readers. You guys are the best, so I only want to give you the best. I hope you can understand.

Missmoppit: I'm really glad you liked last chapter. I've been waiting to post it for a while. When I was writing it, I honestly didn't plan what was going to happen. In fact, I was stuck at what to do after Selene passed out. I started with a nightmare and just, well, I just let the characters decide what happened and poof! It worked. I'm glad you like how I twisted Aless' story. I've got some plans for that key. ;)

* * *

Chapter 59

I woke to a gentle sunlight the next morning. It was coming through the window, making the room glow. The sun. I missed it. I hadn't seen it in almost three weeks. Three weeks without sunlight, and I was as pale as Philyra. For most people it took a lot longer to lose a tan, but then again, the sun was probably connected to me, like my magic. But right now, I was warm, and happy.

I looked beside me and was delighted to see that Klaus was still there. Still asleep. He was probably as tired as I had been. He was facing away from the window, so the light hadn't woken him yet. He was gorgeous as he slept—like some kind of gender bender version of Sleeping Beauty. Yet princely looking, too.

He still needs a haircut. That was definitely something that was happening in the near future.

I reached out and brushed his bangs away from his forehead. He made a subconscious humming sound, and I giggled. Oops. One of his eyes cracked open. "Selene?" he sounded confused.

"Hey Klaus. I guess I woke you up again. Sorry." I whispered.

He shut his eyes again, "That feels nice." He mumbled. Ah, that's right. It took him forever to wake up. He was the furthest thing from a morning person. I continued stroking his hair. It was calming to me, too. The nightmare from last night was a faded emotion, though I could still remember it vividly. It wasn't so scary by the light of day. Most things weren't. But after I had woken up, I hadn't dreamed again. I wonder if it was because Klaus was here.

I remembered how I acted when I confessed, and flushed a bit. Wow, Selene, talk about embarrassing.

' _I don't think he minded, though._ ' said a feminine voice wickedly.

I nearly responded allowed, but then realized that I didn't want to wake Klaus again. 'Is that you, Celeste?' Strangely enough, I wasn't too surprised with the two other selves that were now in my head. It was like some part of my I was unaware of being missing was found and returned. Some people would be freaked out, I suppose, but this felt...natural, really. It was naturally a part of me. Freaking out gets what done?

' _Quite. I was wondering for a while how long it'd take you to figure it out._ '

'Oh hush up.'

Celeste giggled, ' _Oh, it's no big deal, Selene. You two are together now, or at least will be very, very soon._ '

I was quiet. I had just thought of something. And, of course, Celeste knew exactly what it was.

' _Angel is asleep. He used more energy than any of us, and there are no perceivable threats, so he sleeps._ ' she sighed, ' _I'm worried, though, that we'll have to figure out what to do about him. He's volatile. We need to figure out how to either reseal him, or teach him to be calm unless we need him. For now, I believe, I can keep him in line. How long this will be, I don't know. It'll be easier on Terra, where there is less magic for him to draw strength from._ '

'So we've got to figure out something before he hurts someone. This'll be fun.'

' _You're telling me_.'

'That was sarcasm.'

' _I know. I'm a part of you_.'

'This really should be strange, but it isn't.'

' _Not at all. I mean, all the people considered to be true genius' apparently talk to themselves._ '

'Good point. I guess we're just amazingly special, then.'

' _That's one way to put it._ '

I giggled aloud at that.

Klaus hummed and opened an eye, shifting his body to look at me, "Something funny?"

"Just the voice in my head, Klaus, nothing to worry about. I'm going to go check on Philyra. I'll be back, okay?" I smoothed his hair one more time and then carefully crawled out of the—actually really comfortable—bed. He grunted and turned over, still not really truly awake. I stifled another giggle. It was kind of cute, seeing him like this. Not that I'd tell him. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't react too well to being called "cute" seeing as it's very "unmanly" and all.

I also made sure to grab the key that held the sealed non-human selves of Aless. I felt it important to keep it with me.

As it turned out, the other three were just in the next room. There was only one large bed, where Philyra slept curled up into a tight ball, and Sienna was sprawled out carelessly in miniature form on a pillow, not even needing a blanket or anything. Blayze was perched on the thick wooden arm of a chair, his head under his wing. Sienna snored, but it was kind of high pitched in her mini form. I resisted the urge to snort. Ha.

' _Why are we waking them up?_ ' Celeste asked, ' _Oh, I see. We're foraging for food with Philyra.'_

'I'd tell you how wonderful it is not to really have to explain things to you, but you already know that, don't you?'

' _Yup_.'

I smiled. It was kind of fun having someone like Celeste in your head.

' _Why thank you, Selene, I quite like you, too._ '

I walked over to Philyra, and gently shook her. Her eyes snapped open—she was a light sleeper, though Sienna's soring didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. Catnapper, this one. I motioned for her to come with me. Once we were out in the hall, I whispered, "We're going to go back to the garden and find something to eat, okay?" She nodded in agreement. "We'll work on your speaking." I sighed.

'Do you think Aless will mind if we borrow a basket or something?'

' _You're more worried about that than the fact you're taking food? Classic Selene._ '

'Just remember we are pretty much the same person, Celeste.' I retorted happily. "Come on, Lyra. Let's go." I grabbed her hand and started walking, humming a tune reminiscent of Lost Boy by Ruth B.

Klaus' POV

I remember a few fuzzy images of Selene and being semi-awake, but I didn't really wake up until she came charging into the next room, singing the announcement of, "Breakfast~! Come and get it before it's gone~!"

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Why must she always be so _loud_ in the morning? She's always so loud...it's charming, most of the time, but it's annoying first thing in the morning.

And last night...I think back to her kissing me and can't hardly believe what happened. Are we...together now? We never said anything to make it official, but after our conversation, I can't believe that we aren't. We have to be. We are. Aren't we?

"Klaus, hun, you comin'?" And that confirms it. She's never called me that before. I smile and get out of the bed. "Hurry up or I'll eat it all~!"

"Oh hush up, woman! Must you always be so loud this early in the morning! I'm coming!" I cry out. She laughs.

"You've got to properly greet the sun, you know! It's such an amazing thing!" She calls.

I shake my head. She's a special one, that's for sure.

And I love it.

 **Third Person POV** (Mostly because I'm too lazy to elaborate a bunch of stuffs. It's actually first person, but with an unseen narrator (Me!))

Eventually our weary hero and female heroes (because I hate the word "heroine" because it's pretty much the same name used for a drug, so...yeah.) made it covertly back to Gedonelune with the help of Wade, who they managed to contact because he was in the same country (Wade was also devastated to hear that Johnathan was dead—they hadn't managed to make contact from with him yet, because Wade never remembered to grab his phone before leaving Terra), and his girlfriend, Galena.

Upon reaching Gedonelune, they contacted the Ministry and spoke to the special division, the Elite Knights. An investigation was opened, then closed, as all was explained. The head of the knights, the Paladin, decided that they should keep the truth about elementals a secret, and that the memories of all involved (well, not Sienna, since she was a fairy and "disappeared" before they got there and whatnot, taking a recovering Blayze with her) should be erased. The orphaned children, it was decided, would stay with the witch until they were old enough to attend the academy, and the ones with families would be returned to them.

Selene, of course, put up a stink about the erasing memories. Only for a few people, though.

"Excuse me sir. Would the three of us be included in that memory erasing?" Selene said sweetly, gesturing to herself, Klaus, and Philyra.

The Paladin raised an eyebrow and gave them a skeptical look, "Yes, you three were involved, were you not?"

Selene just continued to smile cordially, "We were a little too involved for our memories to be safely erased. Most of the kids, yes, it's a good thing for their protection. But they hardly left a room and didn't know what was going on. The three of us, well, to put it lightly, can't really lose those memories safely. For one, you can't really erase the knowledge that I am, in fact, half elemental. That knowledge is stored in blood memories of my elemental-self Celeste, and no human magic can tamper with that. Basically, it cannot be undone, or altered. Perks of being not-quite-human. As for Klaus and Philyra here, they were in far too deep. You'd leave them with a huge gap in their memory that wouldn't make sense. And don't those sort of things make the spell weak and more easily broken? And when those memories do end up returning, wouldn't it just cause more trauma than leaving them there?" she tilted her head, the wide-eyed picture of innocence.

"She's right, sir." said one of the knights, the youngest one, a redhead named Vincent. Honestly, he wasn't that much older than Klaus. No more than twenty or twenty-one. "It would do more harm than good with these three. And I doubt that Miss Fonix would like to spread her heritage and cause herself to become an outcast among her peers."

"Thank you...Vincent, wasn't it?" He nodded and Selene sent him a smile.

The Paladin sighed, and concluded that the three may keep their memories, but it was imperative to keep it all a secret. Selene also secured permission to tell a select group of trustworthy people—mainly, her family, Elias, and Yukiya. Maybe Luca. Oh, and the headmaster. He kind of needed to know as to why they were all gone and such.

"And are you absolutely sure that the man responsible for all this is no longer a problem?" the Paladin asked.

Selene nodded, "Yes, sir. That is a certainty. And I believe it's best if we leave Elementum as a whole alone. The elementals don't tend to be too fond of humans, so we'd best leave them be. It's like a wasps' nest. You leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. What happened with us was an anomaly. But if we disturb that hive...I don't think there's much of anything we can do about the consequences. Human magic is strong, yes, but there are plenty of humans who can't use it, or use it well. Best just to leave it be and act like we don't know anything. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to get back to Terra. My family, with the exception of Wade and Galena, don't know that I am safe."

So she was dismissed, and the case was closed as soon as the memories of the children were altered and put back where they belonged. After securing adoption papers and filling them out, Selene was off to Terra with Philyra, but Klaus had to return to the academy to sort everything else out there.

Selene's POV

We were at the transfer building, getting Philyra papers filled out so she'd be all legally my sister and stuff. I, for the first time, realized how much weight the Goldstein name carried, because what normally took days to be put through the system took hours. It was crazy.

While we waited, we took Philyra shopping. More like, I took Philyra shopping for an outfit for her and one for me so we didn't have to go back to Terra looking like rag-a-muffins. I couldn't convince Philyra not to wear a skirt (she very quietly insisted that it wasn't proper. Bah.), and ended up having to get a skirt myself because I couldn't find pants that fit me. No matter. I'd be home soon.

I couldn't wait until I could get home, to take a shower, to see my family, and to rest. I was tired, more so than I've ever been. Not just physically, but mentally worn out.

We were on our way to Terra.

I was going home.

Home.

* * *

Authoress: Guys, we've reached the end of Elemental Wizardess, Book 1. There will be nothing more posted to this. Well, I'll put an author's note when everything is off hiatus and Halfling comes out. I hope y'all can understand because you are all awesome!

Aurora: Yeah, guys! I wouldn't exist if you hadn't given Authoress the motivation to continue the story beyond a few chapters!

Selene: Again, thank you all. We love you. Authoress couldn't ask for better readers.

Authoress: See y'all in Book 2: Halflings.

Authoress/Selene/Aurora: Goodbye~!


	77. Just a Little Note

Hey everyone! So this isn't exactly an update for The Spiral. I just wanted you all to know that I've posted a really long one-shot to the Specials collection. It features much of the cast of Elemental, and a few from some other fandoms, in a world of Pirates vs. Navy! I hope this will make up, if only a little, for my hiatus, so go check it out! It's also the two-year anniversary special, so I hope y'all like it. I've put a little excerpt below! (And, because I'm feeling generous, I've put up a little teaser for Halfling, so go to my page and take a peek!)

... ... ...

 _She. The captain of this ship was a she. [Elias] scrolled through his head of known pirate captains that were female. He could think of about three that were well-known (compared to the nearly thirty infamous male captains). Aliana "The Trickster" Cooper, June "The Siren" Crawford, and the worst of them all—Pirate Princess Selene Celeste Fonix, commonly referred to as "The Silver Flame." The rumors that flew about her were the craziest of all._

 _Such as her ship, which was said to be the most unusual ship in the world, fast and strong. It was said to be made of silvery materials that caused it to blend into the water during the day. She was like a phantom, striking navy ships and bases at random—or at least in a pattern so complex no one had been able to figure it out—and then disappearing. No one could say for sure what she looked like, other than she was said to have short hair and odd eyes._

 _You'd think Elias would know more of what she looked like, but despite the woman pirate being the main focus of his brother's energies, Klaus refused to talk about the woman who kept escaping his grasp. Admiral Klaus Goldstein was famous for capturing infamous pirates, and had managed to capture several of the most notorious captains (as well as their crews) since his promotion to admiral after catching a particularly slippery pirate gang about five years back, when he was twenty-two._

 _And the only one he hadn't managed to capture or kill after setting his eye upon them was the infamous Silver Flame, who was, in fact, a fairly new Captain, and had only been well-known for about three years. It had been two years since Klaus had set his sights on her capture, and he still hadn't managed to get her. And he wasn't the only one. She was just as wanted, at this point, as the Pirate King himself._


	78. Halfling Notice!

Totally forgot to let you guys know here that the prologue of Halfling is up and that I'm off hiatus as of yesterday! I'll be posting my normal every two weeks schedule from here on out until further notice! Make sure to go check it out!


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